The Parent Trap
by keksmama
Summary: The title gives a bit away what this story is about...starts in a boarding school where two girls meet and become friends and come across a mystery...Set in the future...
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is my second story about MD and it's set a few years in the future...but you'll find out everything later on in the story. I don't wanna give too much away to not spoil your reading fun..._

_This story is still not completely finished though I have written 96 parts so far..._

_So please read and leave a review so I know if you like it or not!_

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own any of the characters or plots of McLeod's Daughters. They belong to Channel 9.

**Prologue**

Tess McLeod sat in her sister's room and felt completely lost. She was holding Charlotte, Claire's little daughter, who was making funny noises to get her aunt's attention but it didn't work. With her four months Charlotte had no idea of the tragedy that had happened today. And the day had started off so well…

She had gotten the all clear that day that she was indeed cancer free and it had been decided to have a huge party. So she and Claire had driven into town to get some party supplies but on the way back a brumby had crossed the street right in front of them and Claire had lost control over the car. The car hadn't stopped till it was hanging on the edge of a cliff. Claire had convinced her to get Charlotte out of the car and she had done so. But when she had tried to get Claire out she had realized her sister was stuck in the car and there was no way she could get her out. So she had done the nearly impossible and had left her sister there on the edge of the cliff to get help…and half an hour ago she had gotten the phone call that the Ute had gone down the cliff and was burning.

Just then Alex Ryan, Claire's boyfriend, walked into the room…his eyes red and with a face that had lost its entire colour.

Tess looked up "Have you found her?"

"The Ute's still burning Tess…they can't get down."

"They have to do something! Claire's still in there!"

"It's too late Tess…it's too late" Thick tears were running down Alex's face…they had lost Claire. She was dead and with the way the fire was still raging they probably wouldn't even be able to find a body…

**One**

"Mum! I can really do this alone!" Emily Newbury looked at her mother and took her suitcase out of the car.

"All right, if you say so. But I'll have to come inside with you because I have to talk to your headmaster."

"Why? I'm really not a baby anymore, I'm eleven! And once you've left today I'll be alone here anyway."

Emily's mother sighed. Where did her daughter get that strong will from? Not from her that was clear.

"I know I have to leave you here…but I don't have to like it…"

"Mum, we've talked about it how many times? I really wanna do this so please, be happy for me. Before you know it 2 weeks will be over and I'll be home for a visit." Emily said with a serious voice that made her mother laugh.

"Look at us, I'm your mother, I should be the grown up not you. Come on, let's get inside and get you settled. You can unpack while I talk to your headmaster." She said and walked towards the huge yellow building.

Emily sighed. Maybe it was a good thing her mother came with her. It was her first day at boarding school and she had to admit she was a little nervous because she didn't know what to expect.

Once inside the building they were greeted by a corpulent lady with grey hair that was braided and went half way down her back.

"Well, who do we have here?" she said with a very high but pleasing voice.

"My name's Emily Newbury…" Emily said a little shy despite her earlier confidence. She was glad now that her mother was standing behind her and had put her hands on her shoulder.

"Welcome to Westminster College Emily, I'm Ms Wellesley. Let me try and find you on my list so I know where you'll be staying…" Ms Wellesley put her finger on the flip board she was holding in her hands and went down her list "Ah, here we have you, Emily Rose Newbury…you're in room B24 and if I remember correctly your roommate is already here. I think I've seen her run around earlier. Joan?" Ms Wellesley turned around to one of the older girls who was probably one of the volunteer helpers for the day "Would you please take Emily up to room B24?"

"Sure Ms Wellesley." Joan replied and offered Emily a hand "I'm Joan Keese and I'll be showing you to your room."

Emily smiled and shook Joan's hand "Nice to meet you."

"Do you wanna go with your daughter Mrs Newbury?" Ms Wellesley asked Emily's mother.

"I don't think my daughter would like that…but do you know if it's possible to speak to the headmaster for a minute?"

"I'm sure Mr Vandermark will be pleased to speak to you. Joan, could you show Mrs Newbury the way to the headmaster's office before you take Emily to her room? It'll give her an orientation right away of where she can find what."

"Sure Ms Wellesley" Joan said with a smile and led Emily and her mother up the broad stone stairs. They turned around several corners and Emily tried to memorize the way so she wouldn't get lost next time she was looking for the headmaster's office.

"Here we are Mrs Newbury." Joan said when they stopped in front of a large green door. "I'll just go inside and ask if Mr Vandermark is free. I'll be right back."

Two minutes later Joan came back out and informed Emily's mother that the headmaster would have time for her in 5 minutes.

"Thank you Joan" Mrs Newbury said and then turned to her daughter "Do you want me to help you unpack or shall we meet downstairs again when you've found your room and I'm finished with your headmaster?"

Emily sighed "I'll be fine Mum, just go and talk to the headmaster and I'll meet you downstairs when I've found my room and the way back down into the hall, all right?"

Her mother nodded and gave Emily a quick kiss on the forehead which only got her rolling eyes from her daughter.

"Come on Emily, your room is in the next wing." Joan said and with one last smile at her mother Emily followed her while her mother sat down on one of the chairs in front of the headmaster's office.

After five more minutes of walking with a heavy suitcase and a rucksack on her back, Emily regretted that she hadn't let her mother help her carry her things. Finally Joan stopped in front of another green door. Next to the door there was a small sign that said B24/25 and had 4 names under that. They had reached Emily's room.

"Right, here we are. I'm sure you already know that you'll be sharing a room with another girl. We all live in suites here, 2 rooms with 2 girls each and a lounge room for the 4 of you to share. If I remember their names correctly two of the girls in your suit are the year above you, one is in your year. Come on, let's go inside and meet them…"

Joan opened the door and led Emily inside the room. Emily could see that this was the shared lounge room she had just walked into. There was a couch and arm chairs places around a low table. On the walls there were shelves full of books and in one corner of the room there was a small kitchen place with a sink and a kettle. One of the shelves also held a stereo system and a couple of CDs were placed next to it.

"This would be your room…" Joan took Emily out of her marvel gaze and opened the door to the left of where they were standing "As it seems your roommate is already here and has unpacked. She's one of the girls that is the year above you. You can leave your things here and I'll take you down to the clothing chamber so we can pick up your uniforms."

Emily nodded in agreement, a little overwhelmed with all the impressions she had gotten in the last few minutes. So this would be her room. She wondered what her roommate would be like. Would she get along with her? She had never had to share her room with somebody so this would be very new to her but she also looked forward to it. At home all her friends lived far away from her and they had usually only seen each other in school. Now she could make new friends and spend a lot of time with them.

Emily placed her rucksack on the bed that would be hers now and put the suitcase in front of her wardrobe. Joan was already waiting at the door to take her down to the clothing chamber. Emily had been measured at home to give the school a rough idea what size of uniform she'd need and they would go and pick them up now.

After walking down some stairs and turning around several corners Joan and Emily had reached the clothing chamber where they were welcomed by another elderly lady with grey hair that introduced herself as Ms Adrian and Emily wondered if there were any younger teachers there. So far she had only met two and both had grey hair and seemed very old to her. Emily introduced herself and Ms Adrian looked at a list and shortly after that she nodded and went to get the uniforms prepared for Emily.

When she came back she said "You'll have to try them on now dear so I know if they fit or if we need to change something."

So Emily took one of the uniforms and stepped into one of the changing rooms to put it on. When she came back out Ms Adrian looked at her critical at first but then a smile appeared on her face and she said "Looks good. Would you please put on one of the jacket as well?" Emily did so and then turned around so Ms Adrian could take another look at her.

"Everything seems to fit…" the teacher stated and handed Emily the rest of the uniforms and the clothes she had been wearing. "Take the clothes to your room and if there's anything that doesn't feel right just come back and we'll have a look, all right? The chamber's open Tuesday and Thursday afternoon."

Emily nodded and her and Joan left again to go back to her room. This time Emily felt a little more confident in finding her way around as she recognized some of the corners they turned around.

Once they were back inside her room Emily saw that her roommate was now present as well and Joan asked if Emily would be fine now and after the girl nodded excused herself to go back down into the hall.

Emily placed her stack of clothes inside her cupboard and went over to introduce herself to her roommate.

"Hi, I'm Emily Newbury, I'll be sharing the room with you…"  
The older girl looked up from her suitcase and smiled.

"Hi Emily, nice to meet you. My name's Charlotte McLeod-Johnson."

_So...there's a start...what do you think of it so far? Please leave a review...if you liked it or not..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Well...here's part two...I really hope you like this story...I promise the parts get longer later..._

**Two**

Emily started unpacking her stuff and every now and then looked over to Charlotte who did the same. She was curious. The older girl looked really nice. She wanted to know more about Charlotte but didn't dare to ask because she didn't want to sound nosy.

Just then a young woman stuck her head through the door and asked "Char? I need to go now. Anything else you need?"

"Ah Al…I'm fine, thanks. Emily, this is my sister Alana, she brought me here. Al, that's my new roommate Emily."

Alana looked surprised "Hi Emily, nice to meet you. You didn't tell me you'd get a new roommate Charlotte. What happened to Abby?"

"Her Mum lost her job and is now at home all the time. She's going to a school in the city now. She called me during holidays and told me she wouldn't be coming back."

"Oh, that's nice for her that she can stay at home now. Anyway, it was really nice to meet you Emily. Come on Char, let me give you a squeeze, I really need to go, David's waiting for me."

Emily watched the sister's hug and felt a little jealous. She had always wanted to have a brother or sister that she could share everything with. But she was an only child and that wouldn't change.

After Alana had left Emily looked at Charlotte and said "How cool that your sister brought you here. I'm here with my Mum and she's so annoying. Oh crap, I forgot all bout her…she's waiting for me down in the huge hall…how the hell do I get there?"

Charlotte laughed at the face Emily showed. "It's easy. Just walk down the hall to the right then right again and you'll land at a staircase. Go down one floor and when you get out and turn left you'll see the huge stair to the big hall right away. Can you manage or do you want me to come with you?"

Emily smiled. "Nah, I'll find it I think. Right, right, down the stairs and then left. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Thanks!" She jumped up and ran out the door.

In the huge entrance hall Prudence Newbury was already waiting for her daughter. The girl was long due to return and slowly her mother got impatient when she finally saw her daughter hop down the stairs and hurry towards her.

"I'm sorry Mum…I was talking to my roommate and her sister and completely forgot about you…"

Prue smiled and hugged her daughter "Out of sight out of mind, huh? I talked to your headmaster and everything's settled. Bernard transferred the money last week so this school is yours for at least a year. Are you really sure you wanna do this?"

Prue and her daughter had spent every day of Emily's life together so far and it felt incredibly hard to leave her here now. But it had been Emily's wish to go to school here instead of at home and she could understand why. Her little girl wanted to know and do more than her old school out in the middle of nowhere could offer.

"Mum, come on, don't start again. I'll be fine, believe me. I have a really nice roommate and my room looks nice, too. And I'll be home for the weekend in two weeks, I promise. Give Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura a hug for me and tell them thanks again for letting me be here. Now drive home! You've got a long way and I don't want you to fall asleep while driving!"

Prue laughed at that remark "Yes Mum!" She said and gave her daughter one last kiss on the forehead before she walked to her car while Emily was waving her goodbye.

Once she was inside the car and out of her daughter's sight Prue couldn't hold the tears back anymore that had been burning in her eyes ever since she had let go of Emily. She had known it would be hard to let her go but she would have never imagined that it would be like this. Emily was the only family she had as far as she knew. With a sigh she turned the ignition and drove off.

When Emily came back to her room Charlotte was sitting in the lounge room talking to two other girls their age.

"Ah, Emily. Said goodbye to your Mum?" Charlotte said as she saw her new roommate walk through the door.

"Yep, I hope she gets home ok, she was pretty emotional. Mums! Hi everybody! I'm Emily."

"Emily, this is Babette, she's in my year and the red-headed one over there is Peggie, she's in your year. We're what's left of the infamous fab four" Charlotte giggled "We had a lot of fun last year playing tricks on everybody, didn't we? Too bad Abby's not here anymore." The other two girls laughed with her and Emily felt a little like the fifth wheel.

"Look, I'll just go and unpack the rest of my things. Is there anything I need to do today other than unpack and get settled?"

Peggie shook her head "Nope, that's all. I was asked to take a little care of you in the first days if you don't mind, since we're in the same year so just stick to me and you'll be fine. Once you've unpacked you can come back out and tell us a little but about you…we're nosy!"

Emily smiled and nodded "Ok. I won't be long. But you'll be pretty disappointed with my story. My life wasn't exactly interesting so far…" she turned around and went back into her room to unpack her things.

Luckily she hadn't taken all that many things with her because the small wardrobe and the bedside table wouldn't exactly hold a lot of things. The room was pretty stuffed with the two beds, bedside tables, wardrobes and desks. One set of each thing looked like somebody had already moved in whereas the other set was still pretty empty.

It didn't take Emily long to unpack her things and she went back outside. She was jumped on by Peggie right away. "Sit down Em and tell us all about you…"

"What exactly so you wanna know?" Emily wasn't sure what the other three girls were expecting.

"Oh you know, the usual stuff…where you come from, why you're here, Mum's name, Dad's name, what they do…just what everybody wants to know…" Babette said.

Emily sighed "All right…but it's really nothing dramatic."  
"Tell us anyway!" Peggie was getting excited.

Emily noticed that Charlotte was rather quiet and wondered why but didn't want to ask her in front of the other two girls. Maybe later when they were alone.

"Ok, here we go. My name's Emily Newbury and I'm 11 years old. I was born and grew up on a farm about an hour outside of Adelaide where my Mum is the house keeper. I have no clue who my Dad is so I've never met him and can't help you in that department. I'm here because I wanted to go to a boarding school where I could learn more than at the local school at home. I spent almost more time on the bus going to school than actually being there. I wanna be a vet later so I need to go to a good school…anything else you wanna know?"

Peggie and Babs asked Emily about her likes of music and what she had done on the farm. Then Emily asked them about their lives and why they were here and the three of them had a really nice time talking and completely forgot about Charlotte who just sat on the couch in silence lost in her thoughts.

Then they heard the bell ring that told them it was time to go to the dining hall to have tea and all four girls got up with three of them still chatting and one being very quiet.


	3. Chapter 3

_Well...here's the next part! I hope you enjoy it and maybe it clears some of the confusion that the first two might have caused..._

3

Prue arrived at the farm she worked at and had lived at for the last almost 12 years now. She stayed in the car for a little while because she was not ready to face her boss and his wife yet. She had been crying almost the whole drive back from the boarding school and it was a miracle she hadn't caused an accident. Being here at the farm where Emily had spent all of her life and the girl not being there made Prue incredibly sad again and she felt new tears running down her cheek. 'God, I can't go inside like this! What are they gonna think of me?'

But the decision to face her employer and friend was taken from her when she heard a knock against her window and saw Bernard worried face.

"Are you alright?" she heard him say through the window and nodded, tears still running down her cheek. Bernard opened the door and leaned down to wipe away the tears from her face. "Why don't you go inside Prue? Laura's waiting for you and I'm sure you must be thirsty after the long drive. I'll just put the tools away and be right with you, ok?"

Prue nodded and slowly climbed out of the car.

Inside Laura hugged her and held her tight for a couple of minutes while Prue's tears slowly got less and less till they finally completely stopped.

"Come on, let's get somewhere where we can sit down talk."

"I'm not sure I wanna talk Laura…"

"Oh no Prudence Newbury, you're not gonna keep those feelings locked up inside you like you always do…not this time."

Prue smiled weakly. Before Laura had married Bernard all those years back she had been a counsellor and to this day she still did that from time to time 'to not lose her skills' as she always said. That was the way Prue had gotten to know her and how she had ended up on this farm.

"All right, you won. But I'd like to rest my head…could we go to my room?"

"Sure, whatever's best for you dear…"

They walked to the other end of the house and outside into the night. Across the yard was a little cottage. That's where Prue lived with her daughter. At the sight of the cottage Prue felt the tears welling up again as she realized she'd be living there alone now.

Inside the cottage Prue fell on her bed without even taking her shoes off. She was too tired after all the emotional changes she had gone through today and the long drive to the boarding school and back.

Laura sat down next to her and just stroked the younger woman's back. She knew Prue would talk when she was ready and if she'd push her she'd only close up and not say a thing.

"Why is it so hard to let her go Laura? Why can't I be happy for her?" Prue finally said.

"Because she's your daughter and your only family…hell, it was hard to let the boys go when they were her age and I still had Bernard. I cried for days…"

"Glad I'm not the only one then!" Prue joked through her tearstained eyes. "She wouldn't even let me see her room, it's like she doesn't need me anymore…she's only eleven."

"You know, you have a very strong willed daughter there who is incredibly sure of what she wants to do in her life and she is that thanks to you. I know it won't help you now but I promise you it'll get easier with time and Em will realize that she loves you and still needs you. Just wait till she comes home again for the first time."

"Thanks Laura, I just had a hard day…I'll be so glad when I can get back to work tomorrow…it'll take my mind off Emily."

"Sure it will. We'll all have to get used to not having that little whirlwind around. She sure knows how to keep the whole farm on their feet…" Laura smiled at the thought of Emily and all her energy.

Yes, she would be missed. Dearly. The girl had been born on the farm in this very room and Laura considered her more as a kind of early grandchild than the daughter of one of her employees. Because Prue had always been more a daughter and a friend to her than her housekeeper.

Laura thought back to the time she had first met Prue. Back then the young woman hadn't even had a name. She had been one of the patients that had been assigned to her as part of her volunteer work. Prue had been found at the side of the road completely dehydrated with a huge head wound, a busted knee and a broken right arm. Nobody knew what had happened to her because the young woman had lost her memory which to this day hadn't returned. In many therapy hours they had tried to find some sort of connection to Prue's past but all they had come up with was the name Prudence Newbury and the image of horses. Everything else was buried deep inside Prue's brain and after so many years Laura doubted that it would ever come out again.

When they had found out that Prue was pregnant Laura had asked her husband if there was a possibility to give Prue a job on their farm so the young woman had a place to call home when her baby came. Luckily Bernard had agreed and Prue had learned to cook again and how to use a washing machine so she could fill the job of a house keeper. Now Prue and her daughter were more like family members than employees so when Emily had voiced the wish of going to boarding school Bernard had offered to pay for the fees because he knew Prue could have never fulfilled her daughters wish. Their own sons were both married and out of the house, none of them really interested in the farm. Emily had always shown more interest than them and had helped as much as she could at her young age. She was a hard worker and an incredibly good rider and loved every animal on this planet. So her wish to become a vet one day had not really come as a surprise. That was one of the reasons why Emily had wanted to go to boarding school so badly which was now the reason for her mother's misery.

"Can I leave you alone now or shall I wait till you're asleep?" Laura asked Prue who had just changed into her nightwear and now slipped under the covers of her bed.

"Nah, you can go. I'll be fine I guess. Crying won't bring her back and it's all for the best, right? Sorry to bother you Laura, you and Bernard have done so much for Emily and me and here I am, still needing your comfort. One should think after all these years I should be able to look after myself…"

"You don't have to Prue…that's what you have Bernard and me for, all right? When we took you here 12 years ago you became part of our family and so did Emily. I can still remember the day she was born…boy that girl was a fast and loud one! Now think about all the good times you two had and the good time you will have in the future and be happy for your daughter that she has the opportunity to live her dream…"

"Thanks Laura…I owe you one!"

"No you don't…now close your eyes and sleep!"

Prue smiled. Laura sounded like Emily had earlier today. "All right Mum!" She teased the older woman and snuggled deeper in her bed. Maybe she'd have some nice dreams of her daughter tonight…


	4. Chapter 4

**four**

Emily pulled her covers tighter and snuggled deeper into her bed. She hadn't taken her stuffed horse with her that she usually slept with because she didn't want the other girls in her new school to think she was a baby. But now she regretted it. Even Charlotte had a small dog with her that looked really old.

Emily was still wondering why Charlotte had gotten so quiet when her and the other girls had talked about their families but she wasn't really sure if it was ok to ask her. After all they only knew each other for a couple of hours.

She sighed. This would be a long night because she didn't think she could fall asleep. She had never spent a night away from home without her Mum. They had gone on holiday occasionally but then Emily had always been allowed to sleep in her Mum's bed. Now she was alone and didn't even have her stuffed horse. She would have to take it with her on her next visit home.

After another sigh Emily heard Charlotte's voice "Can't sleep, huh?"

"No…sorry, did I wake you?"

"Nah, I can't sleep either. The first night here after the holidays is always a bit strange. But it gets better."

"How long have you been here?"

"Since I was 8…" Charlotte's voice had a sad tone to it.

"Wow, that's a long time…have Peggie and Babs been here that long, too?"

"Babs almost, Peg came last year. Abby was my best friend…the girl that left. We started here together. I really miss her."

"I'm sorry Charlotte…I hope we can be good friends so you don't have to be so sad anymore. By the way…I'm sorry if I said anything that hurt you. You know, when I was talking about Mum and my home. You were so quiet then…"

Charlotte, who had been facing the wall till then, turned around so she could look at Emily. "You noticed? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. It's just…I was born on a farm and lived there for a while but I haven't been there in ages and I realized how much I miss it."

"Really? That's cool! I mean that you were also born on a farm. Can I ask why you haven't been there for so long?"

"Long and sad story…" Emily could feel that Charlotte didn't really wanna talk about it so she just replied "Oh, ok. Well, we should both try and sleep…school starts tomorrow and I wanna be fit for my first day…if only I had my horsy with me…"

"A stuffed one?"

"Yeah, I left it at home…"

"You wanna have my extra pillow to hug? I know it's not the same but better than nothing…"

Emily smiled. Charlotte was a really nice girl. "That would be great…if it's really ok…"

"Hey, even though it was such a long time ago I can still remember my very first night here. I know how scary it is…all the strange sounds this old house makes. Here…you can have it till you get your horsy, all right?"

"Thanks Char…good night."

"Night Em. Sweet dreams."

"To you, too"

Soon after that both girls were asleep.

Over the next two weeks Emily and Charlotte spent a lot of time together and became fast friends. The older girl helped the younger one with her homework and in return got stories from Emily's life on the farm and her work there. Charlotte really seemed to enjoy those stories and Emily was only too willing to tell them because it helped her from getting homesick. Even though they talked about farms quite a lot the talk never came back to Charlotte's farm experience and Emily didn't wanna push her.

It was Friday afternoon and Emily was packing her things to go home over the weekend. She would have never admitted it but she had missed her Mum and her Uncle Bernard and Aunt Laura and the farm and the horses and all the other animals. Charlotte wasn't back from school yet and Emily hoped she would be back in time to say goodbye to her.

Just then the older girl walked into the room and threw herself on the bed. "Emily, consider yourself lucky you don't have Mr Henderson in maths…he is the worst teacher I've ever had in my WHOLE life?"

Emily smiled. Charlotte complained about him every day. "Hey Char, couldn't it be that it's rather the maths that's your problem instead of Mr Henderson?"

Charlotte turned around on her bed and looked at Emily angrily. "I don't care what it is! I hate him, I hate maths…what's the difference? I don't see why I have to learn that anyway?"

"Because it's important. Hey, are you not packing?"

"No, I'm not going anywhere over the weekend."

"You're not going home?"

"No, no point. Nobody would be home anyway…" Emily could see tears welling up in Charlotte's eyes and walked over to her friend and hugged her.

"I'm sorry Char, I didn't mean to upset you…"

"It's just…I'll be alone here all weekend with you, Peg and Babs gone and I hate that. I hate my family…" Charlotte started crying now.

"Why? Your sister seemed really nice when I met her…"

"She is but she's never home. She's studying in Sydney and won't be back for another 3 months. My other sister Natalie is at another boarding school. She's 17 and in her last year. And my Dad's on some kind of business trip in the USA right now…you see, nobody home."

Emily was confused "What about your Mum? Isn't she home?"

Charlotte's crying only got louder and Emily didn't really know what to do with her friend. She petted her back and hoped that Charlotte would calm down soon. Finally the sobs got less and Charlotte looked at Emily.

"I'm sorry Em…I shouldn't have started crying like this…it's only when everybody leaves to go home for a weekend I realize how messed up my family is. Tell you what…you go home and enjoy your weekend and when you come back I will tell you everything, ok? It's too much to tell now and I bet your Mum is waiting for you downstairs…"

Emily looked on her watch and nodded. "Yeah, she should be here any minute now. Are you sure I can leave you alone?"

Charlotte smiled a weak smile and said "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm used to it…I just lost it for a bit I guess" She wiped away the tears and ran her fingers through her shoulder long, brown hair.

"All right then" Emily said and hugged her friend one last time. "I'll see you Sunday evening…" then she grabbed her rucksack and went to meet her mother downstairs.

Prue was already waiting for her daughter to come down. She had sat down in the big hall because she knew she was a few minutes early. The prospect of seeing her daughter again had made her drive faster than she normally would but she had missed her little girl so much. Laura had been right, it had gotten easier in the past two weeks to not have her around constantly but Emily's happy voice when she had called the Saturday before had reassured Prue that this was the right thing to do for her daughter and that she should be happy that Bernard and Laura gave her this possibility.

She heard somebody coming down the huge stair and could get up just in time to catch Emily who was flying in her arms.

"Mum!" she shouted and hugged her mother tightly.

Prue held her close for a few seconds then pushed her back a little "Take it you've missed me?"

Emily smirked "A little…can we go home now? I'm dieing to see Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura and I can't wait to tell them everything. How are they? How's Shadow? Can I ride him when we're back home? Mum…hurry up or it'll be too late!"

Prue laughed "You know Em, I really don't know if it's a good idea to take you back home with me…we've all gotten used to the house being nice and quiet for a change…"

"Oh come on Mum…you've missed me! Just admit it!"

"Only if you admit it as well!"

"NEVER!" Emily laughed and so did her mother. They walked to Prue's car arm in arm and were soon on the way home…


	5. Chapter 5

**five**

When they reached the farm Emily jumped out of the car and ran into the house leaving her smiling mother behind. She hadn't seen Emily this excited in a long time. Prue grabbed her daughter's rucksack and followed her inside.

"Uncle Bernard…Aunty Laura…Where are ya?" Emily shouted through the main house "Don't play hide and seek with me!"

Two loud laughs could be heard from the kitchen followed by Bernard's voice "Well Laura…I think there goes our peace…it was good while it lasted…"

Emily had reached the kitchen in the meantime and flew around the neck of her mother's employer and placed many little kisses on his cheeks. The young girl and the older man had always had a very special relationship. "Thank you Uncle Bernard…thank you, thank you, thank you…" Emily settled down on Bernard's lap, her arms still wrapped around his neck.

"You're welcome…if I only knew for what…" Bernard smirked.

"For letting me go to boarding school…it's great! The teachers are so nice and there's so much more I can do there…did you know they have horses there? If my marks are good in the first tests I'm allowed to join the riding team…and the best of all is my roommates…two of them are a year older and really cool, they don't treat me like a baby like you could expect…can go for a ride on Shadow now? PLEASE?"

"Jeez girl…I thought you were never gonna stop!" Laura said from her end of the table with a huge smile on her face. They had all missed the girl in the last two weeks and were glad she was home, even if it meant putting up with her energy now.

"You'll have to unpack your things first and show me what needs washing." Prue said from the doorway where she was standing.

"But Mum…it'll be too late for a long ride then…" Emily looked at her mother with begging eyes.

"No discussions young lady or you won't get to ride at all…come on, the sooner you do it the sooner you can go for a ride…"  
"Ok, ok…I'm coming…"

"Welcome home honey!" Laura said with a smile as Emily left the kitchen.

30 minutes later Emily and Prue were in the stables saddling up their horses. Ever since Emily had been old enough to ride her and her mother had gone for long rides over the beautiful property that belonged to Bernard and Laura. When Prue had first arrived here she hadn't known that she could ride but a year after Emily had been born there had been an emergency and she had had to do it.

Without even thinking much she had saddled up a horse and ridden to help look for Bernard who had gone missing. She had found him with a broken ankle after falling off his horse and it was only when she had seen Bernard's confused look that she realized she actually knew what she was doing with the horse. Since that day she had gone riding almost every single day to clear her head from all the thoughts that were running through her head. And ever since Emily was old enough she had accompanied her mother on those rides.

"Ready to go?" Prue asked her daughter who nodded and they both mounted their horses.

Mother and daughter rode alongside each other in silence for several minutes till Emily finally said "You know Mum, I'm really glad that you are my family…"

Prue frowned. She was happy to hear that but she didn't know where Emily's thought had come from. "Anything you wanna tell me?"

"It's about my roommate…Charlotte. You know, she has to stay at boarding school all weekend alone because nobody's at home where she lives…"

"That's sad honey, really sad. Are her parents both working?"

"I don't know…at least not about her mother. Charlotte's Dad is on a business trip in the USA but she didn't wanna talk about her mother…I don't know why. She has two older sisters, I've met one of them, she was really nice but they are not home either. I can't understand it…if I had an older sister I would always want to be together with her…"

"Sometimes life is not that easy Emily. Maybe something bad has happened to her mother and the whole family has now problems dealing with it. Give her some time and maybe she'll tell you everything. If not then you'll just have to live with it…you nosy creature!"

"I'm not nosy Mum…at least not this time. It's more like…I wanna help her and don't really know how because I don't know what happened. But you're right, Charlotte said she'd tell me her story one day so I'll just have to wait." Emily smiled at her mother and then changed the subject "Fancy a race?"

"Always honey…to the trees over there?"

"Deal…loser has to do the washing up…ALONE…on three…one…two…three" As Emily shouted out the word three she already poked her heels into Shadow's belly and the horse flew away. Prue didn't take long to catch up with her daughter but in the end let her win. After all the girl would only be home for the weekend…she shouldn't have to work on her first night home.

"I won…you are gonna be all alone in the kitchen tonight while me and Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura enjoy ourselves in front of the TV…" Emily shouted in excitement not even considering her mother had let her win.

"Yeah, yeah…rub it in, will ya?" Prue said with a smile "It's getting late Em, we should go back to I can cook us some nice dinner…"

"Can't I stay a little longer Mum? I promise to be careful…PLEASE!"

"Sorry Emily, you know the rules…"

"Yeah, yeah, no riding alone unless it's for work and somebody knows where I am…come on Mum, just this once…I've missed Shadow so much…"

"And Shadow will wait another night for you. Not tonight honey. But I'm sure you can ride one of the fence lines with Uncle Bernard tomorrow. Come on, time to get back and into the kitchen. We're having your favourite food tonight…"

"Spaghetti? Aww, thanks Mum, you're the best!"

Without and more begging from Emily's side mother and daughter rode back to the homestead together and while Prue went into the kitchen to prepare dinner for everybody while Emily took care of the horses…

The rest of the weekend Emily didn't think much about her roommate Charlotte. She just enjoyed being home and for the first time really appreciated the life she had. She could go to the school she wanted and when she came home on the weekend she could do the work she wanted. Nobody forced her to do anything because they were all just glad to have her back. At one point she had joked that if she had known they'd all treat her like a princess she would have gone to boarding school sooner.

When it was time to go back on Sunday afternoon Emily packed her things together, including her toy horse, and went to the stables to say goodbye to Shadow. She would miss him and she would miss riding in general like she had done the previous two weeks.

"Sorry boy, I have to go again. But I'll be back in 2 weeks, I promise. Keep your imaginary fingers crossed that my first tests all turn out good so I'm allowed to be on riding team…" She gave the chestnut horse one last kiss on the neck and left the stables before her mother started shouting for her.

"Ah, there you are…" Prue said as she saw her daughter come up to her from the directions of the stables. "Should have known you'd say goodbye to Shadow. Come on, we gotta go or we'll be late…"

"Mum?"

"Yeah honey?"

"Thanks for the weekend…I love you!"

"I love you, too. But would you please get in the car because I don't wanna have to break too many speed limits on the way to take you back on time…"

Emily smiled and climbed in the car. Her Mum was really the best…


	6. Chapter 6

6

Charlotte leaned against one of the gates of the horse paddocks that belonged to the College and watched the horses run around and play. She had spent a lonely weekend writing letters to her family. One for Alana, one for Natalie, one for her Dad, one for her Aunty Tess and Uncle Nick in Argentina and one to her Aunty Jodi who was in London at the moment. Now she was waiting for Emily to come back so she'd have somebody to talk. They had become really close friends in those two weeks they now lived together and Charlotte felt like she could really tell her all that had happened in her young life. She hadn't told anybody yet, not even Peggie and Babs knew. They would have never understood why Charlotte was so sad that she wasn't on the farm anymore where she had been born. But Emily would understand…

Charlotte had left a note on Emily's desk to meet her here so they could talk without their other two mates listening.

"Charlotte?" she finally heard Emily's voice from around the corner.

"At the horse paddock…"

Emily walked around the corner and smiled weakly at her friend. She was still wearing jeans and shirt and her long brown hair was put in a loose pony tail.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Are you on the riding team?"

"No, I'm just looking at the horses…I'm not allowed to ride…"  
"Really? Why?" Emily was curious. She couldn't understand why Charlotte shouldn't be allowed to ride if she wanted to. It didn't cost anything extra…

"That's part of my story…do you still wanna hear it?"

"Sure…I've been thinking about you on the weekend…"  
"How was home? Did you have fun?"  
"Yeah, Mum and me took some long rides and my Uncle Bernard took me out to repair some fences on Saturday…it was a lot of fun. What have you done?"  
"Homework, reading, wrote some letters…the usual." Charlotte replied. "There's a bench over there. Do you wanna go there and sit down? We can still watch the horses from there…"

"Sounds fine"

The girls sat down and Emily watched her new friend. Even though Charlotte had talked to her just now, the older girl still seemed kind of absent. Emily could practically feel all the whirled up emotions inside of Charlotte. She had never felt that way. It was like the two of them had a special kind of connection even though they had only known each other for two weeks.

"Charlotte? Are you all right?" Emily asked worried.

"No, not really…but that's not your fault. I don't know if it's anybody's fault…"

"I'm sorry…is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just listen…maybe you'll understand it then…ok?"

Emily nodded and took Charlotte's hand to encourage her that she could tell her anything. And so her friend started to talk…

"On Friday you asked me about my Mum and why she wasn't home, remember? Well, the reason my Mum isn't home is because she died when I was just a little baby…" Emily saw tears running down Charlotte's face and squeezed her hand "I'm sorry Char…I didn't know that."

"Nobody knows…I don't know what happened, all I know is that Mum died when I was 4 months old and that I lived with my Aunty Tess after that for about a year."

"Why didn't you live with your Dad back then?"

"Mum and Dad were never married…I don't know the whole story but I know that my Dad was always married to my step-mum Julia…Alana and Natalie are my half sisters…"  
"Oh…"

"Anyway…when I was a year old Tess gave me to my Dad so I could live with him. I don't really know why but I think it had something to do with my sisters. We weren't living far away from Drovers Run, Mum's and Tess's farm so I still saw her and my Uncle Nick and Aunty Jodi really often. And Uncle Alex, Nick's brother."

"Wow, you have a really large family…I only have my Mum…"

"Yeah, but none of my family is here now, are they? When I was four Tess and Nick moved to Argentina and have been living there ever since. I've visited them a couple times there. They have a really nice house in Buenos Aires and I have two cousins. After they left I didn't come back to Drovers all that often but I went from time to time…mainly to visit Alex, he's my godfather."

"Wow, Argentina! That must have been cool. How can you remember all those things? I don't think I know what I was doing when I was four…"

"Aunty Tess told me when I visited her in Argentina last year…well, parts of it and what I tell you now is from my Dad…when I was 5 my Uncle Alex got married and I don't know what happened then but suddenly I wasn't allowed to go back to Drovers anymore. I haven't been back ever since. Dad said it had something to do with Fiona, Alex's wife, but I don't know her or at least I can't remember…"

"And why are you not allowed to ride anymore? That seems so strange to me…I mean, it doesn't cost anything here, does it?"  
"No, it doesn't…it has something to do with my step-mum and an accident she had when I was eight…" Emily could see that Charlotte's face had a pained look.

"What happened?"  
"I was having riding lessons back then and Dad was on one of his business trips so Julia, my step-mum took me there and I convinced her to go on a ride with me…she wasn't a very good rider but she agreed. You know, even though I wasn't her child she always treated me good…she was a really nice person…" Fresh tears were running down Charlotte's cheeks and Emily moved even closer to her friend and hugged her.  
"Char, you don't have to tell me if it makes you cry…"  
"But I want to tell you…it feels right to tell you but I hope you will still wanna be my friend when I'm finished…"  
"Why shouldn't I?"  
"Because I killed Julia…" Charlotte buried her face in her hands and started sobbing.

"You killed her? I don't understand? How?"  
It took a while till Charlotte was able to speak again.

"That ride we went on…my horse was balking at something and Julia tried to calm it down…" More sobs escaped Charlotte's throat. "She fell of the horse and…and…she hit her head on a stone…there was blood everywhere and I didn't know what to do…I went back to get help put it was too late…I killed her Em…if I hadn't asked her to go on a ride with me she would still be alive…"

"Oh Char…" Emily pulled her friend in a close embrace "I don't think it was your fault…my Uncle Bernard always says people fall off horses and sometimes bad things happen…"  
"But my Dad said it was my fault…I know he blames me for it!"

Emily didn't know what to do with Charlotte so she just held her tight till the sobs got less and finally stopped. Charlotte looked up and said "Sorry Em…your shirt's really wet now…I hope it isn't ruined…"  
Emily smiled "Nah, that's a work shirt…it's seen worse things than a few tears…so, that accident…is that the reason you're not allowed to ride anymore?"  
Charlotte nodded and then looked on her watch "Shit…we've missed tea! Damn…I'm sorry Em, we'll have to starve till breakfast now…"

Emily smiled. "No, we won't…my Mum gave me a supply of self baked biscuits…I know it's not a real meal but it's better than nothing…we should go upstairs before they send a search party to find us…"  
"I can't eat your mother's biscuits! They were meant for you!"  
"Yes, they were so I can determine who gets to eat them…and you Charlotte McLeod-Johnson are on the top of my list! Come on…" Emily pulled her friend up from the bench and dragged her towards the building.

Once they were inside their room she took the cookie box and handed Charlotte one of the chocolate chip biscuits her Mum had made for her.

"My Mum always says that chocolate heals everything…"

Charlotte took the biscuit and tried it "Em, your Mum is the best…thank you, you are a real friend!"  
"Ah, you're welcome…and who knows, maybe I'll let you borrow my Mum one day" Emily said with a wink and hugged her friend. "Hey Char…do you have a picture of your Mum? Your real Mum I mean?"  
"No…I don't, Dad put them all away…I can hardly remember her face. Do you have one of yours?"  
"No, I see her every second weekend, I don't need one…but I'll bring one next time I'm home, all right?"  
"I just wrote a letter to my Aunty Tess…I'm sure she'd send me one of my mother…I'll ask her!"

So the two girls agreed to show each other the pictures of their mothers once they had gotten them…


	7. Chapter 7

7

Alex Ryan stood at the huge window in the living room of his home Killarney and looked at the rain falling outside. He was alone on the huge house, his housekeeper had gone home and all the hands had either gone to their quarters or into town to have some fun. They had asked him if he wanted to come along but Alex hadn't felt like going out and so he had to spend the evening alone with some bottles of beer and his thoughts.

With a sigh Alex pulled away from the window and grabbed another bottle of beer. Tomorrow the anniversary of the day that had had changed his whole life was coming up…Claire's death. Twelve years ago the only woman that he had ever truly loved had been taken away from him forever. He could still remember it like yesterday…one minute they are joking on the way to the car, the next minute she's gone…A deep pain found its way into his chest once again as the sight of the burnt Ute appeared before his inner eye. He had always hoped that Claire had been dead before the car exploded because he couldn't stand the thought of her burning to death. If she had been dead when the Ute hit the ground she wouldn't have had to suffer at least.

Like every year since Claire's death he would go over to Drovers tomorrow and visit her grave to lay a single red rose in front of the headstone. Every time he'd do that he would also be reminded that he was visiting an empty grave. After the Ute had stopped burning the fire fighters had gone down to see if they could find any remains in there but since Claire and Tess had just filled up the tank there had been enough fuel so the car would completely burn out and leave nothing behind but ashes.

They had still set up a headstone on the McLeod family cemetery so they'd all have a place to visit Claire when they felt the need to.

Alex sighed. Tomorrow would be another hard day of his lonely life. After Claire's death it had taken him almost 4 years to fall in love again and even then his love had never been as deep as his love for her. He had married Fiona anyway, knowing that there was nobody out there that could even come close to Claire. She had been his soulmate and Alex had always thought that you can only find that once in your life. He knew he hadn't been fair towards Fiona but in a way he had loved her deeply. Their marriage had lasted 7 years till he had finally realized that Fiona had never wanted him and that he had never truly loved her in the way you should love your wife.

Their divorce had been final for almost a year now and as much as he hated being alone on Killarney it was still better than living a lie.

They had had good years, no doubt but Alex always had to think about how his life could have turned out if he hadn't married her. On their wedding day Fiona had been pregnant but had lost their child shortly after that only to find out that she could probably never get pregnant again. A world had crashed down for him because he had always wanted a huge family. His only comfort back then was Claire's little daughter Charlotte. He was her godfather and in the early days of his marriage the little girl would spend every second weekend with him. But those visits always led into huge fights with Fiona. She had felt uncomfortable around Charlotte from day one and would clearly show it to the child. And it got worse over time till one day Fiona had given him the choice…either Charlotte or her. Back then Alex had been stupid enough to choose Fiona. He couldn't tell why now…maybe it had been because he had been afraid of being alone since his father had died, he really didn't know.

Charlotte had never come back to Drovers or Killarney after that day. He had visited her a few times in the city but the close relationship they had had before had been broken forever. The last time he had seen Charlotte was over a year ago now when they had all visited Nick and Tess in Argentina together.

She was twelve now and Alex wondered what she looked like now. Her once blond hair had darkened over time and would now probably be as dark as her mother's hair. Was she as tall as Claire was already? Probably not, but last year it was already clear that Charlotte would probably reach her mother's height.

Just a few weeks ago Alex had gotten a postcard from her from when she had been on a family holiday with her father and sisters. Now she'd probably be back in boarding school where she had stayed since her step-mother's fatal riding accident.

'I should write her a letter…' Alex thought. It had been a long time since he had done that. He was not the writing type, phoning was more his way of staying in contact. But with Charlotte that was not possible.

"Well Ryan…you better get your arse into bed…tomorrow's a long day…" he told himself as he got up. While he was over at Drovers anyway he had promised Tess and Jodi to have a look at everything. Jodi would be back from London in four weeks and he wanted to make sure that everything was running smoothly.

It was a strange feeling for Alex to go back to Drovers and not see any familiar faces around. He could remember a time when he had spent more time there than at home on Killarney. But in these days he didn't really know anybody working there. His mate Stevie, who had once been a part owner of Drovers, had left six years ago to be closer to her daughter Rose, Tess and Nick had found a new life in Argentina that they both seemed to enjoy and Jodi's friend Kate had left after she had been offered the job she had always dreamed about.

Alex found it quite amusing that the only person left on Drovers now was Jodi…he could still remember her as an 18 year old when she couldn't wait to leave the farm and travel the world. And now she was the one that kept the farm up and the family tradition alive. Jodi, the girl that hadn't even known she was a McLeod till she was 22 years old. The young woman still felt the need to travel but limited it to a few weeks a year visiting her mother and step-father wherever they were at that time and always stopping by in Argentina to see her sister.

The day before Jodi had called that she was now in London and planning on coming home soon and had asked him to see if the hands on Drovers were doing a good job and to say hi to her oldest sister on her death day.

Alex slowly moved upstairs but he knew he probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway…his mind was spinning too much. Maybe he should have gone out with his hands…that would have at least stopped his thoughts.

'I'll write a letter to Charlotte if I'm awake anyway…' he thought and took paper and pen with him. If he couldn't sleep he could at least do something productive…


	8. Chapter 8

8

After Charlotte's confession she and Emily became even closer friends. They spent every free minute together and had long talks before they went to sleep at night. Charlotte had told Emily that she still had nightmares about her step-mother's riding accident and her Dad's reaction to it so when Emily work up one night because Charlotte was crying in her sleep she slipped in her friend's bed to hold her and calm her down.

Peggie and Babette watched their two room mates get closer and closer and spend more and more time alone than with them. At first they had been pleased about the growing friendship because they knew that Charlotte was not always easy to get along with. You always had to be careful with what you said or Charlotte would shut down and not speak a single word the whole day. Even though the two girls had known her for quite a long time none of them knew the whole story of Charlotte's life. She had told peg and Babs that her mother and step-mother had both died and that her Dad was often on business trips…but that was all they knew. But now it seemed that Emily knew a whole lot more about Charlotte even though she had only been here a couple of weeks and that made Peg and Babs jealous. They didn't wanna lose their friend so they didn't say anything to her but their relationship wasn't as close as it had been before Emily had appeared on the scene.

Emily's first tests turned out really well and so she asked her teacher if there was anything else that she needed to do so she could join the school's riding team. Her teacher told her that she'd have to pass a try out riding and that her mother needed to sign a permission but Emily was sure that that would all work out fine. She knew she was an excellent rider and she had already talked with her Mum about the possibility of joining the team and her Mum had agreed. So now that it was only a matter of time till Emily would be back up on a horse she had to tell Charlotte right away.

She ran to their room but couldn't find her friend anywhere. But Emily knew where she could probably find Charlotte, at the same place she had found her 9 days earlier…the horse paddock. Even though her friend wasn't allowed to ride Emily could still see the same love for horses she had in her friend's eyes. Too bad the parents had to sign the permission for the riding team…otherwise they could have done that together.

Emily had been right. She found Charlotte sitting on the fence of the horse paddock totally oblivious of what was going on around her. She held something in her hands that looked like a letter and when Emily came closer she could see tears running down Charlotte's face.

"Hey Char? Everything alright?" she asked worried.

Charlotte hadn't heard her new best friend walk up to her. She had been totally surprised today when she had found a letter in her post box and even more surprised when she had seen who it was from. Her Uncle Alex had written to her! The last time she had seen him or even heard of him was when they had said goodbye after their trip to Argentina together to visit Tess and Nick and her cousins last year. After that he had dropped her off at her Dad's place and she had never heard of him again. Charlotte knew that Alex didn't like to write letters and phoning her was just too difficult. He had sent her a birthday and Christmas present but they had always only had a small note attached, no real letter.

So when Emily addressed Charlotte now the girl nearly fell off the fence at the sound of the voice.

"Jeez Em…you nearly scared me to death!"

"Sorry Char…you looked so lost. Is everything all right? Any bad news?" she pointed her head to the letter Charlotte was holding.

"No, it's actually good news! My Uncle Alex has written me a two page letter!"  
"Really, wow! I thought you had said that he doesn't write letters…"  
"Well, usually he doesn't, but I got this one this morning." Charlotte ran her fingers over the paper as if it was a treasure. Because that's what it was to her. Alex had never written to her before. She had sent him many letters but he had always phoned her as a reply.

"You wanna talk about it?" Emily carefully asked.

Charlotte smiled "Why not? It's a good letter." She said with a huge grin "Uncle Alex is divorced now."

"Oh, that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah, Fiona was the one who never wanted to have me around…He's invited me to come and stay with him! If Dad agrees I can go over the weekend! Wouldn't that be great? I wouldn't have to be here alone all the time, Alex could pick me up and we could get to his farm and maybe my Mum's farm, too."

"That's great Char! I'm so happy for you! But why were you just crying? It didn't look like tears of joy…"

"They weren't…Alex wrote about my Mum…"

"Oh…"

"I missed her death day, you know?"  
"You did?"

"Yeah…well…I didn't know the exact day she died but knew it must have been some time around now since I turned 12 four months ago…"  
"Right, and you were four months when she died…"

"Yeah…listen to what Alex writes: _I've been thinking about your Mum a lot lately, I hope you don't mind. _As if I'd really mind that! I think about her all the time!" Charlotte commented on what she had read. "_After Fiona left I realized that I was never really over her death and I don't think I ever will be_. _I don't know if I've ever told you how much your Mum meant to me or if I have if you've understood it. You were so young when I really had you with me for the last time. But now you're old enough to understand it so I'll just tell you again. Your Mum was the love of my life, my soul mate. She was the only person in the universe that always knew what I was thinking and that I trusted completely. To this day I haven't found another person that I can honestly say that about and I doubt I will ever find one. Your Mum and I were friends most of our lives and although I wouldn't wanna miss any second I spent with her it sill makes me sad that we didn't tell each other earlier what we felt. Those few weeks we had together as a family, you, me and her, were the best weeks of my entire life. I know you have a Dad Charlotte and I'm sure you love him but I've always hoped that one day you'd see me as a kind of father, too. I know it's my fault that we haven't seen each other very much in the last years and I really hope you can forgive me for that. I should have listened to my heart back then instead of my brain when I told your Dad you shouldn't come here anymore. Please forgive me for that. I hope we can become the friends again we once were…_" Charlotte sighed. She had tears in her eyes again and her voice had broken a few times while she had read the letter out to Emily. She wiped away the tears and looked at her friend "Isn't he just a great guy? The way he talked about Mum is so romantic! How can I not forgive him when he says such nice things about my Mum? You know, I'm sure he has a photo of Mum and if I really get to go to his farm over the weekend I might be able to convince him that I could take it with me and we don't have to wait for Aunty Tess's letter. Because that'll take ages!"

"You really think that he'll let you take it? It sounds like he really loved your Mum and I'm not sure he wants to give her photo away…"

"You don't know Alex…he'll let me do ANYTHING as long as it makes me happy! It's always been like that. God, it would have been so cool if him and Mum could have stayed together…he's be my Dad now instead of my real father…"  
"Don't you love your real Dad?"  
"Well, yeah, but he's not as cool as Alex…come on, I've got to call Dad! Let's hope Ms Wellesley lets me use the phone! I don't have enough money for the phone booth…I'll have to tell her it's an emergency…"

Charlotte jumped off the fence and ran towards the building and Emily had a hard time keeping up with her.

40 minutes later everything was settled. Charlotte had talked to her father and Peter had agreed that she could go and see Alex on the weekend if he would take her. His business trip took longer than he had thought and when he had last talked to Charlotte he had heard the disappointment in her voice that she'd have to spend another weekend alone at boarding school.

After her Dad had agreed Charlotte had called Alex and Emily saw how her face had lit up the second her friend had heard his voice. 'This Alex must be a pretty cool guy…' she had thought to herself and was happy for her friend.

Charlotte and Alex set a time he would pick her up on Friday and after hanging up she fell around Emily's neck and the two girls jumped in excitement over Charlotte's trip on the weekend…


	9. Chapter 9

9

The weekend quickly approached and with each day passing Emily could see Charlotte getting more and more excited.

On Thursday Emily had her tryouts for the riding team and Charlotte had gone to support her friend. When she saw Emily in her borrowed riding boots, pants and helmet she got a little jealous because she too wanted to be able to ride a horse again. She missed it so much and hoped that Alex would take her for a ride on the weekend. When Emily rode into the training circuit Charlotte could already see how comfortable she looked on the horse and when she went over the jumps like it was nothing Charlotte already knew that her friend had made the riding team. She doubted that there was a better rider than Emily on the team even though her friend would be the youngest.  
Afterwards a very happy Emily came up to her and said "I made it! Now Mum only has to sign the permission…Did you see it?"  
Charlotte nodded and hugged her friend "You were fantastic! And congrats!"

The girls spent all Thursday evening talking about horses and riding.

When it was finally Friday afternoon both girls had packed their things for the weekend and were waiting to be picked up. Charlotte was so nervous she had to use the bathroom every 10 minutes and each time she'd jump up again Emily would break out into laughter. She was happy for her friend but this was too funny.

Charlotte had just left 30 seconds earlier when a tall, dark haired man walked into their room.

Emily had just remembered she still needed to pack the permission for the riding team and was looking through the things on her desk so she was startled when she heard a voice behind her.

"Umm, hello? I'm looking for Charlotte McLeod…"

Emily turned around and placed her hand on her heart "Jeez, you scared me…"  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" the man in the doorway said "I'm looking for Charlotte…I want to pick her up for the weekend…"

"Oh, so you must be Alex!" Emily shouted out and went to shake the man's hand. "I'm Emily, Charlotte's roommate. Nice to meet you! I heard a lot about you in the last few days! Charlotte will be right back…"

Alex laughed, the girl he was standing opposite of somehow reminded him of Tess…he didn't know why but there was something about her. "Nice to meet you Emily…and I hope Charlotte only said good things about me…" Alex still wasn't really sure how Charlotte would react when she saw him again. He had more or less neglected her over the last year and he knew that children unforgiving. Though when she had called him on Tuesday she had sounded quite excited.

"Oh yeah…if you weren't so much older than her I would have thought she's in love with you" Emily chuckled.

Alex couldn't help the huge grin that appeared on his face "Really? Wow, that's nice…I haven't had a 12 year old be in love with me for a long time…" he said with a wink.

Emily laughed "You're funny…you're not single by any chance?"  
"Why you asking?" Alex was curious now.

Emily chuckled again "Oh, just checking…you know, my Mum's single and I've thought for a long time she needs somebody to make her smile…from what Charlotte told me about you you'd be just perfect" she said and then added with a wink "Just kidding…I mean, my Mum is single but it's not like I'm trying to sell her off…I mean…damn it…"

Now Alex laughed "It's ok Emily, I think I know what you mean…and I take it as a compliment that you're considering me for your Mum…"

He could see that Emily was relieved "Oh, good…Mum always says my mouth will get me into trouble one day…guess she's right…"

Just then Charlotte had found her way back from the bathroom and when she saw Alex in her room she shouted "ALEX!" and flew into his arms. "I've missed you so much!" She blew little kissed all over his face and Alex had to laugh. "I've missed you too sweety…now get off me you little bug so we can get on the way to Killarney…we've got a long way ahead of us."

Charlotte let go of her uncle and suddenly remembered Emily. "Oh Alex, this is my roommate Emily…she's the best friend one could wish for!" She went over to her friend and put an arm around her shoulders. "And she's the best rider I've ever seen!"  
"Better than me?" Alex said with a smile.

"Well, you're older than her…but you should have seen her at her tryouts yesterday…she was THE BEST!"

Emily turned slightly red but Charlotte knew she loved the compliment. "Now her Mum only needs to sign the permission and she will be on the riding team. She'll be the best on there Alex, I swear!"

"I'm sure if you'd be allowed you'd be just as good as me, Char" Emily said "You know so much about horses and riding…I can't believe you haven't been on a horse for four years"

"Peter still not letting you ride?" Alex asked Charlotte and saw the sad look on the girl's face. "No…" Charlotte said and turned to her uncle "Could we maybe go for a ride on the weekend? Dad doesn't need to know…he's in America anyway…" she asked hopefully.

Alex hated to disappoint her but he also didn't feel comfortable doing something against Peter's will… as stupid as that will was. He was Charlotte's father and no matter what he was responsible for her. And if he didn't want her to ride Alex wasn't really sure if he should really act against that will.

"I don't know Charlotte…your Dad doesn't want you to ride and I'm not sure I wanna upset him. We'll have to talk about that, ok? Now come on…we should really get going now or we won't be on Killarney till tomorrow!"

Charlotte felt her hopes for a ride on the weekend sink but she didn't give up completely. She knew Alex would do anything to please her and who knew, maybe if she kept on begging he would give in in the end and they'd go for a ride. But now was not the time…

"Ok Alex…you can take my things and get them to the car and I'll say goodbye to Em real quick…" she said and handed Alex her bag

Alex was relieved that Charlotte had given in so quickly but he had the feeling that this discussion wasn't over yet.

"Righto…hurry up. It was nice meeting you Emily and who knows…maybe I'll meet you Mum one day!" he said with a wink and walked out the door.

Emily blushed on Alex's comment and Charlotte was curious what it meant.

"What was that comment about your Mum?"

"Oh…nothing really "Emily said a little embarrassed. "I just couldn't keep my big mouth shut and sort of asked Alex if he wanted to go out with my Mum…"

Charlotte laughed "And what did he say?"

"Nothing really…it was a stupid comment anyway. Now go before he leaves without you…"  
"Like he would do that…Em?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I will miss you over the weekend…"  
"I will miss you, too. But you'll have Alex and I'll have my Mum and we'll both be back on Sunday…don't forget to ask Alex for a pic of your mother!"

"And don't forget to bring one of yours!"

The girls hugged each other one last time before Charlotte followed Alex…


	10. Chapter 10

10

On the drive to Killarney Charlotte and Alex talked about what they had missed in each other's lives over the last year when they hadn't seen or heard from each other. Charlotte knew a bit about Alex from his letter but she wanted to know all the details and Alex knew nothing about what had happened in Charlotte's life.

When they finally arrived they were both informed and turned to conversation to other thing.

"So Char…what do you wanna do tonight?" Alex asked the girl as she unpacked her things in his old room on Killarney. He had decided since he didn't have any kids of his own this might as well be Charlotte's room. It still had his old style from when he was a teenager but he wanted Charlotte to put the things in here that she liked.

"Not sure…do you have anything planned? If not we could play some board games or so…"

"Sure…sounds good…how do you like the room?"

"It's nice…was it yours?"  
"Yeah…it could be yours if you want to…" Alex said carefully.

"Really?" Charlotte's eyes lit up. "That would be so cool to have my own room here…does that mean I can visit you more often?"

"Sure, if you want to…and if Peter doesn't mind…" Alex wasn't sure how Charlotte's father would react. Even after all these years they weren't the best of friends but they got along for Charlotte's sake.

"Nah, leave Dad to me. He's away on business trips most of the time anyway and I'd have to spend the weekends alone."

"That's sorted then…" Alex said with a wink. He hoped Charlotte was right because he really wouldn't mind seeing her more often. "So tell me…do you wanna give this room your special Charlotte touch or do you wanna leave it that way?"

"Would it be ok if I changed some things?" Charlotte looked at her uncle. "I mean…it's not that I don't like it in here it's just not…"  
"Girly enough?" Alex helped her out.

"Well, I don't like it all THAT girly…just a bit more would be nice…"  
"You can change anything you like Charlotte…as I said, this is your room now and you can do with it whatever you like. Just promise me you won't max out my credit card…"

They spent the rest of the evening playing games. It started out with simple board games till Alex got fed up with them and started teaching Charlotte how to play poker. It didn't take the girl long to pick the basics up and Alex found Charlotte was pretty good at bluffing. He could never really tell what the girl was up to and was surprised more than once when she played out her cards.

When it was time for bed Charlotte got herself ready and came down one more time to say goodnight to Alex. She wanted to ask him about going for a ride again and she already had a plan. So with her pyjamas on and freshly brushed teeth she snuggled up to Alex and hugged him.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"About that ride…"  
"Charlotte…"

"Please Alex…only this once…I wanna go to Drovers tomorrow if that's all right with you. I haven't been there for so long and I can hardly remember it…"  
"We can go there by car sweety…"  
"But it won't be the same…please! We could stop by on Mum's grave on the way…I missed her death day and I wanna say hello…"

Alex smiled. "You still know how to get me, don't you?"

"Is that a yes?" Charlotte asked hopefully.

"Ok…but we can't tell your Dad or you'll never be allowed to come here again…"  
"Thank you Alex…thank you, thank you, thank you!" Charlotte threw her arms around Alex's neck and left little kisses all over his face. "You're the best…"

"Yeah, yeah…now get to bed! You haven't been on a horse for four years, you'll need to be well rested for tomorrow!" He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a friendly slap on her bottom and Charlotte went to bed.

The next morning Alex woke her up early so they could have breakfast together and then saddle up the horses to go on their ride. But before they went out into the country Alex wanted to see how good Charlotte's riding skills still were and give her a few tips if necessary.

When Charlotte was finished with breakfast and dressed in her jeans and one of Alex's old shirts Alex handed her a pair of boots.

"You'll need these if you wanna ride. I've checked your shoe size when I woke you up this morning and they should fit. Hurry up Char…we'll have to see how good your riding is first…"

So they saddled up the horses together and Alex was pleased to see that Charlotte still knew how to do it. She mounted the horse and Alex led her outside so she could have a few rounds in the yards and get used to the horse while he was checking out how good she was. Alex knew Charlotte had had riding lessons till Julia's accident but he had never seen her ride alone. With the physical similarities Charlotte had with her mother seeing her riding was almost like watching 12 year old Claire again. Before the emotions overtook him Alex mounted his horse and said to Charlotte "Think you're good enough so I can take you out into the wilderness…but we'll take it slow, all right? We've got the whole day…"

Charlotte nodded and Alex asked her "Do you have your water bottle?"

The girl checked again "Yep, it's here and filled to the max…"  
"Good. I've got the lunch Rhonda prepared for us so we're ready to go I guess…"

They rode alongside each other over the green hills of Killarney and Charlotte was so happy to be back on a horse that wanted to shout it out to the world. When they reached the border to Drovers Run they stopped for a while and Charlotte let her eyes look over the land that had once belonged to her mother.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Alex asked her as he saw Charlotte's look.

"It is…and it belonged to Mum…" the girl's eyes got teary at the thought.

"Half of it is yours now Charlotte…your mother left it to you when she died…Come on, let's pay her a visit, I'm sure she'd like to see you."

They crossed the border and rode till they had reached the little Drovers graveyard. Alex helped Charlotte dismount and held her hand as they walked closer to the graves of her mother, grandparents and uncle.

Both of them had tears in their eyes as Alex said "Hey Claire, look who's come home…"

Charlotte and Alex sat down on the grass and the girl asked her uncle "Alex…how did my Mum die?"

"You don't know?"  
Charlotte shook her head "No, nobody ever told me. I only know she died when I was only four months old but nobody ever told me what happened."

So Alex took a deep breath and told Charlotte what had happened the day her mother died. When he was finished the girl was crying in his arms and his tears were falling on her head. "I'm sorry if I made you cry sweety…" he said and kissed her hair.

"It's ok Alex…I wanted to know. Now I know she died to save me and Aunty Tess…I only wish I could remember her, I don't even know what she looked like. Dad took all the photos of her away…"

Alex felt his old anger towards Peter rise up again "What the hell did he do that for?" he exploded but tried to calm himself down again quickly. "Well, that's another thing we need to change then. I have tons of pictures of your Mum and I'm sure I can give you some of them…I think I even have a spare one of a picture of you in your Mum's arms the morning after you were born."

"Really? That would be so cool…"

"Yeah…we'll look for the pictures when we're back on Killarney, all right? Now get up and dry those tears…we'll have a proper look at Drovers now…"

They spent the rest of the day exploring the homestead and Charlotte was amazed that she could actually remember some of the things. When they came back to Killarney later that day her and Alex went looking for the photos of her mother. Alex had them all in a box hidden in the attic because Fiona hadn't liked to have them around.

"Ah, here they are…" Alex said and handed Charlotte, who was standing at the foot of the ladder, the box.

They went through all the pictures Alex had and he told Charlotte the story behind every picture. When they were finished Charlotte hugged her uncle.

"Thank you Alex…I feel so close to Mum now, closer than ever before. And I miss her terribly but at least I know now what she looked like…" She looked at the picture in her hand. It was the one Alex had been talking about…the one taken the morning after she had been born. Her mother looked so happy on it although Alex had just told Charlotte how afraid Claire had been that she'd be a good mother.

They packed the pictures away and Charlotte had now four pictures to take with her and show to Emily. One of her Mum as a teenager where she looked like Charlotte looked now, one of her Mum and her Aunty Tess, the one of her Mum and her and a picture of her Mum, Alex and her in Melbourne.

They spent the remaining time talking and playing a few more rounds of poker and Charlotte once again surprised Alex with her talent. When it was time to go back to boarding school Charlotte packed her things together and Alex promised her that next time she'd come around they'd take care of her room.

Saying goodbye wasn't easy for both of them but Charlotte couldn't wait to show Emily the pictures and tell her all the stories Alex had told her about her mother so she gave her uncle a hug and a kiss and jumped out of the car…


	11. Chapter 11

11

Emily had already unpacked her things when Charlotte ran into the room with a huge smile on her face. The younger girl had never seen her friend that happy so she smiled as Charlotte threw her bag on her bed and followed it. With her feet still resting on the ground and her hands on her tummy Charlotte let out a big sigh.

"Take it you had a great weekend…" Emily said and looked up from the book she had been reading.

"Oh yeah…Alex is THE BEST! I swear! I have never had this much fun in my whole life!"

"That's good…you were so sad last week. Did he take you for a ride? What did you do? Come on…don't let me die uninformed!"

Charlotte laughed "You're not nosy a bit, are ya?"

"Well…maybe I am but you can't wait to tell me anyway, so spill!"  
"You're right." Charlotte sat up on her bed. "Where do I start? Oh yeah…I now have my own room on Killarney…how cool is that? And the best of all, it's Alex's old room! And I can change it the way I like…Alex called it 'adding the Charlotte touch'…"

"That sounds great Char! Can you go there more often now?"  
"I hope so…I still have to convince my Dad…anyway…where was I? Oh yeah, he took me for a ride on Saturday! I was finally back up on a horse and it was the greatest feeling in the world."

Emily smiled. She knew exactly what Charlotte was talking about. She couldn't even imagine not riding for four years. That was just pure horror for her.

"We rode from Killarney to Drovers cross country and stopped by at Mum's grave. I was so sad when I saw her headstone but I finally know what happened. Alex told me…then we went to the Drovers homestead and I could remember some things, it was so great. My old room's still there but it looks like a baby room…I'll have to ask Aunty Jodi if I can change that room too…I'll have two rooms to go to then, isn't that great?"

"It is…did you get a photo of your Mum from Alex?"

"Yeah I did…four actually. I have one of Mum where she's like thirteen and I have to say I know now why people look at me and say I'm like my mother…" Charlotte had begun searching through her bag "Damn…I think they're at the very bottom. I packed them first so I won't forget them. There's one of Mum, Alex and me in Melbourne…they look so happy on it. I really wonder what my life would have been like if Mum hadn't died…" Charlotte sighed "Now come on Em…how as your weekend? Did you bring the photos of your Mum?"

"Yeah, I did. Mum wanted to know if I had gone soft when I asked her for the pictures but I told her I wanted to show her off." Emily chuckled "Other than that it was a pretty normal weekend. Saturday I helped Uncle Bernard move some sheep to another paddock and Mum and I went for a ride again on Sunday morning. I swear she only takes me out when she knows we have to be back at a certain time…"  
Charlotte laughed "I bet ya she knows you'd stay out forever otherwise. Did she sign the permission?"  
"Of course she did! My Mum's the best…just like your uncle Alex. When I came back from moving the sheep we went into town and bought some nice black riding boots and a helmet. I can't wait to start training tomorrow!" Emily was really excited but when she saw her friend's disappointed face she added "I wish you could do that together with me…can't you ask your Dad again to sign the permission?"  
Charlotte shook her head "He wouldn't sign it…not after what I've done to Julia…"

Emily felt sorry for her friend "We'll have to try and convince him…I'm sure you're a good rider if Alex lets you out into the country on horseback…"  
"You can't tell my Dad I was riding with Alex…" Charlotte said in a sharp tone and added a little softer "Please Em…promise me you won't tell anybody! Dad would never let me go back to Killarney if he knew!"

"Ok, I promise…what about the photos now? I have mine here if you wanna see them…" She reached for the shelf over her bed and took a couple of pictures down that were wrapped with a small golden band and handed them to Charlotte.

"Hold on…I'll dig through my bag…I'm sure they're at the bottom somewhere…ah, there they are" Charlotte said and pulled out the envelope Alex had given her for the pictures. Then she turned her attention to Emily's pictures…

Emily hadn't opened Charlotte's envelope yet when she heard her friend breathe in heavily. She looked up and saw Charlotte's confused look.

"What is it?" she asked her friend but Charlotte didn't answer. "Hello…earth to Charlotte…what's up? Isn't my Mum pretty?"

Charlotte awoke from her gaze and looked at Emily. "Where did you get that picture from?" she asked with a voice that could barely be heard and help up one of the pictures Emily had given her.

"That one…that's Mum holding me a couple days after I was born…Aunty Laura always said they had to wait ages to take that pic because I wouldn't stop crying…why are you asking?"

Charlotte was silent once again and looked back at the picture. Then she placed it on her bed and took her envelope from Emily's hands.

"Because if this is your Mum how do you explain this?" she asked her friend and handed her the picture of Claire and her.

Emily looked at it and had the same surprised look on her face that Charlotte had had a few minutes ago. She grabbed her own picture from Charlotte's bed and held them next to each other.

"How can that be? I mean…look at the pictures…they look…they…" she was too shocked to even think straight.

"They look the same…I know." Charlotte finished for her friend.

"But why? I mean…that's my Mum there in that picture but…where was your picture taken?"  
"Alex said my Aunty Tess took it the morning after I was born…I have more pictures of my Mum and they all show that woman…I don't understand it either. My Mum died in a car accident…Aunty Tess and I were with her. Alex told me the story…"  
"Did your Mum have a twin sister or anything?"  
"Not that I know…I only know of my Aunts Tess and Jodi. And an uncle that was stillborn…but Alex never said anything about a twin sister. How about your Mum, did she ever say anything about a twin sister?"  
"No, as far as I know Mum doesn't have any relatives. But she never talks about her past so I don't know…"  
"Who's your Dad? I mean…you must have one, don't you?"  
"No…well…yeah, but I don't know his name…" Emily looked at the pictures again. "They must be twins…just look at them!"

Charlotte sat on the bed behind Emily and took another look herself "Do you know what that means…if they're twins then we are cousins…" it suddenly dawned on her.

"Wow, you're right! How cool would that be?"  
"Pretty cool…" Charlotte smiled and hugged Emily. "But I think we should keep this to ourselves till we can find out more, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that'll be fun…we're cousins and nobody but us knows" Emily chuckled "But how are we gonna know if we really are? And what happened?"

"Well, we're gonna have to ask some questions…you'll have to ask your Mum and I'll have to ask Alex. Gosh…we're gonna have to spend all out pocket money making phone calls or we'll have to wait another two weeks and pray that my Dad doesn't come home till then…"  
"Why not? Couldn't he tell you if your Mum had a twin sister?"  
"No…it seems to be a secret or something so the only people that might know are Aunty Tess and Alex. And since Aunty Tess is in Argentina, Alex is my only option. And if Dad comes back in the meantime I'll have to and visit him in two weeks instead of going back to Killarney…"  
"Ok…phoning is our only option then" Emily said and looked at Charlotte. "I doubt I can wait two weeks anyway…I would so like to call my Mum now but she'll think I've run completely mad if I do that. Tuesday is the earliest I can call…"

"Right, then I'll call Alex tomorrow. Don't think he'll get suspicious if I ask questions about Mum, we talked about her so often during the weekend he'll just think I wanna know more…"

The girls signed their deal with a hug and then heard they bell that called them to tea…


	12. Chapter 12

12

The next day Charlotte couldn't wait for school to be over so she could finally call Alex. She needed to know if there was any possibility that Emily was her cousin. But how could that not be? Hers and Emily's Mum looked so similar, how could they not be twins? Charlotte smiled at the thought of Emily as her cousin. That would be really great. She knew she had two cousins, Claire and Jack, Aunty Tess's children, but they were all living in Argentina and a bit younger than Charlotte. Claire was 8 and Jack was 5. Emily on the other hand was only a year younger than her and had been her friend before they had found out they could be related. They were sharing a room at the same boarding school so it would just be perfect if she could be her cousin.

Charlotte ran into their room and saw Emily getting ready for her first training with the riding team. A slight feeling of jealousy washed over her till she set her mind straight and told herself that she should be happy for Emily and that it wasn't her friend's fault her father wouldn't sign the permission.

"Hey Char, how was maths today?" Emily asked while putting on her jacket.

"Don't ask…ready for your first training?"

"Kinda…I'm really nervous."

"Why? You are the best rider I've ever seen, nothing to be nervous about! But I feel like I have thousands of butterflies in my stomach…"  
"Because of calling Alex?"  
"Yeah…and because of what he might tell me…I really don't know where to start or what to say…" Charlotte looked at Emily begging for an idea.

Emily got up and hugged Charlotte "You'll find a way Char…I really need to go, I don't wanna be late on my first day, do I?"

Charlotte smiled "No, but you better hurry up when you're finished…we've got so much to talk about when I'm done phoning Alex."

Emily nodded and headed for the door but turned around again in the door frame "Why don't you tell him you have to write an essay about your mother or something like that?"  
"You know what Em…that is a great idea! And you could do the same with your Mum tomorrow…then she won't get suspicious that you call!"  
Emily smiled "Yep, that's it then…I need to go! I promise I'll hurry up when I'm done…"

Half an hour after Emily had left Charlotte was finally finished with the home study she had gotten that day so she hurried down to the telephone booths at the end of the big hall. She closed the door behind her and dialled Alex's phone number with trembling fingers.

"Killarney…" she heard her uncles voice and felt her heart beat all the way up into her throat.

"Hi Alex…it's Charlotte…" She said nervously.

"Hey squirt…you already miss me, huh? What can I do for you sweety?" Alex asked and Charlotte could hear from his voice that he was worried because she called so soon after she had visited him.

"Oh, nothing serious…well…I have to write an essay about my mother's life and her family background and since I can't ask her myself I thought I'd gather all the information I could get from all my lovely Aunts and Uncles…" Charlotte breathed in and hoped she had sounded convincing.

"Oh, all right…what do you wanna know?"

"Well, since Aunty Tess is in Argentina and Aunty Jodi is in London…maybe you could tell me what you know about Mum's family background…you know, everything about my grandparents…"  
"Righto, let me see what I can find in the back of my head…"

In the next half hour Alex told Charlotte everything he knew about Jack and Prue and Ruth and their marriages and about Claire's life and how she had always missed her sister after her and Ruth went away but none of the information Charlotte got from her uncle was what she really wanted and she began to doubt that Alex was the right person to talk to. When he was finished with telling her what he knew he asked "Did that help you in any way?"  
Charlotte wanted to give it one more chance and said "Yeah, a bit…so let me get this right, Jack and Prue are Claire's parents and they had two kids, Mum and her stillborn brother Adam. And Ruth was Jack's second wife and she's Tess's Mum…and I know that Meg is Jodi's Mum…"  
"Yes, that sounds about right."

"And you were together with Mum when she died but Peter is my father…Jeez my family is screwed!"

Alex laughed "Not more than mine sweety…and we all love you so it's not all that bad…I'm glad I could help you and once you have that essay finished I would love to read it!"

They said goodbye and Charlotte was a bit disappointed with the information she had gotten. Alex hadn't mentioned anything at all that there could be the possibility that her Mum had had a twin sister. Now her hopes were all on Emily's Mum. Maybe they could find out something about her life and see if she knew anything about a twin sister.

On Tuesday it was Emily's turn to call her mother. She had been as frustrated as Charlotte that the phone call to Alex hadn't brought any new information and she began to doubt that talking to her mother would bring them forward. But she called her anyway with Charlotte and herself squeezed in one phone booth.

"Newbury…" she heard her mother's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Mum, it's me…"  
"Em! Is everything all right? Why are you calling?"  
"Calm down Mum, everything's fine." Emily said and rolled her eyes so Charlotte could see it. "The reason I'm calling is…I need to write an essay about my mother's life and her family background…and while I was writing I realized I knew a lot about your present life and what you've done ever since you came to Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura but I know nothing about the time before that…" Emily breathed in and waited anxiously for her mother's reply.

She could hear Prue breathe in on the other line as well but she didn't say anything.

"Mum? Everything all right?"

"Yeah" Prue finally said "It's just not that easy Em…"  
"Mum please! I really need to know for the essay…you didn't run away from home or anything, did you?"

Prue laughed "No Em I didn't…but I also can't tell you anything about my life before I came to the farm…"  
"But why not? If it's embarrassing I won't tell in my essay…"  
"I would tell you if I could Emily but…I can't remember anything…"  
Now Emily was really surprised and had a confused look on her face.

"What's up?" Charlotte whispered because she had seen the look on her friend's face.

Emily shook her head and then asked her mother "Why can't you remember Mum?"

Prue sighed and then told her daughter everything she knew about how she had been found at the side of the road, her memory loss, how she had found out she was pregnant and that Aunty Laura had been her counsellor before she had moved to the farm. When she was finished she said "I'm sorry Em, that's all I know about my past. I don't even know how old I really am and if Prudence Newbury is my real name…all I know is you're my daughter and I love you…"

Emily had tears in her eyes. She hadn't known anything about her mother's life and could now understand why Prue had always told her she didn't know who her father was.

"Thanks for telling me Mum…I wish I was with you now and could give you a hug…"  
"Me too Em, me too. So…will you be able to write your essay now? Because when you're finished I'd really like to read it!"

After Emily had hung up Charlotte looked at her because she had no idea what Emily's mother had told her. Apart from a few hmms and ahas she hadn't heard anything and it felt strange to her that Emily hadn't asked any more questions.

"So, what did your Mum say? It can't be that bad now, can it? You look like you've seen a ghost! Hello? Emily?"

The younger girl looked up at her friend "I'm sorry Char…my Mum won't be any help either…she's lost her memory…Char, can we go up to our room? I don't really wanna talk about it here…"

Up in their room Charlotte jumped on Emily as soon as they closed the door behind them.  
"What do you mean your Mum lost her memory?"

Emily sighed "Well…she said she was found at the side of the road and didn't know who she was or where she'd come from…"

Charlotte's mind started racing "When was that? Do you know? Do you know what happened?"  
Emily was confused "No, I don't know what happened, Mum can't remember…and for the time…Mum said she found out she was pregnant later so it must have been a couple months before I was born…Why do you wanna know?"

Charlotte's heart was beating really fast now when she told her friend "I told you my Mum died in a car accident but I didn't tell you what Alex told me at her grave…they never found her body…"  
Now Emily looked even more confused "What the heck are you trying to tell me Charlotte?"

"Look, I know I'm not good in maths but even I get that…if your Mum had an accident a couple months before you were born it must have been around the same time my Mum had her accident…"

And suddenly it dawned on Emily what Charlotte was trying to tell her. "You mean that my Mum and your Mum aren't twins…they are…"  
Charlotte nodded "Yes, the same person!"

"But then we're not cousins…"  
"No, even better…then we are sisters!"

"Oh Charlotte…if that's true…"

"It must be true! Just look at the pictures Em!"  
"But how do we find out for sure…I mean, my Mum can't remember and your family thinks yours is dead…"  
Charlotte's mind was working overtime now. "I've got to go see Alex…he will know what to do!" she then shouted out.

"But what if you can't go next weekend? What if your Dad comes back?" Emily asked her.

"I can't wait that long anyway, I need to know…because if your Mum and mine are the same person…then my Mum isn't dead!"

"You're not doing anything stupid like running away, are ya?"  
"I need to know Emily! I have to go as quickly as possible…"  
"Then I'll go with you!" the younger girl said resolute.

"No Em…you can't do that! You'll get into trouble and I don't want that!" Charlotte took Emily's hand and looked her in the eyes.  
"Charlotte…I'm coming with you and that's that! And besides…when I'm gone my Mum has to come and look for me and if we're together and she finds us you can see her…"

Charlotte liked Emily's thinking although she still didn't want her friend and possible sister to be in trouble. But in the end they agreed to run away together and try to get to Alex to ask him what to do. They agreed to do it the following weekend so nobody would realize right away that they weren't there. They would know soon enough when they didn't go to school on Monday and it would give them a head start…


	13. Chapter 13

13

For both girls the days until Friday seemed to last forever. They had decided the best time to elope would be Friday evening after dinner. That way they could try and pack something to eat and drink and then walk into town so they could take the first bus towards Gungellan. They had put their money together and it was enough to get them about half way to Killarney. From there they'd have to see how to go on but half way was better than nothing.

They had decided to take their blankets and warm clothes with them in case they had to spend the night somewhere and most of their things were already packed.

Charlotte and Emily would always put their heads together whenever they were in the same room and Peggie and Babette didn't really care anymore. When they asked the two other girls if they wanted to play a game in the evening Charlotte and Emily would usually decline and say they needed to do some homework.

Friday after school Charlotte and Emily went straight to their room to pack the rest of their things together and then put their rucksacks in their wardrobe so nobody would find them. All that was missing now was the food they wanted to take with them so they sat on their beds and went over the plan once again.

"How long do you think we'll have to walk till we're in town?" Emily asked Charlotte. Westminster College was in the middle of nowhere, only surrounded by wide open space. The nearest town was 10 kilometres away.

"If we don't walk all that slow we should make it before 10 pm I would guess…we can't use the main road because somebody could see us there so it might be a bit more than the 10 k…I don't know."

"How are we gonna get our bags out without anybody seeing them? They're not exactly small enough to hide them under our jackets…"

"Oh, that'll be easy…we'll just have to wait till everybody's already gone for tea, then we'll hide them in the phone booths. And then we just slip out before the others do and voila…we're on our way to Alex…" Charlotte was really proud of her plan.

"What about Peg and Babs…aren't they gonna miss us?"  
"Don't think they will until tomorrow morning. And we'll already be on our way to Gungellan then…"

"Char?"  
"Yeah?"  
"What do you think they will do with us when they find out we're gone?"

Charlotte could see the fear in Emily's eyes. She knew how badly Emily had wanted to go to this school to be a vet one day. So she went over and hugged her.

"I don't know Em…I really don't know. Look, you can still stay here, I will understand…"  
Emily straightened her shoulders "No, I will come with you! If you're really my sister I don't wanna be away from you ever again. We're in this together and if they send me home again I will just have to try and study harder at home."   
The girls hugged again and then waited till everybody had gone for tea…

Five hours later it was almost completely dark as two girls tried to find their way into town through the night cross country. They had brought their torches with them but Charlotte's had given up after about half an hour. The battery was empty from all the times she had been reading under her blanket at night.

"What time is it Char?" Emily asked as she followed the older girl.

"Almost 10…we should be in town soon…"

"Are you sure you know where we're going? Maybe we should have taken the street…" Emily didn't mind walking cross country in general but she hated it when she didn't know where she was. And since she had only been in Westminster for a couple weeks she hadn't had time to explore the area around the school yet. All she knew was the fenced off area that belonged directly to the college.

Finally the girls saw the first lights of the nearing town and Charlotte was proud of herself. While they had walked alongside each other through the darkness she hadn't always that sure she knew where she was, she only walked into town once before on a field trip to meet up with the local students for a friendly volleyball match. Finding the way in the dark was completely different. But they had made it.

"See, I told you we'd be there soon…" she said to Emily.

"Ok, ok, I should have believed you…where do you think we can spend the night? It's already pretty cold and I'm not sure I wanna stay outside without a proper sleeping bag…"

"The bus is leaving from the Truck Stop so I think we should stay somewhere close to there…"

"And they won't look for us there if they find out tonight that we ran away?" Emily said sarcastically.

"Right, I didn't think about that. Maybe we should stay somewhere outside of town then for the night…" and added when she heard Emily sigh "Don't worry, I'll hold you tonight if you get cold…" Charlotte made that promise not only for Emily but also for herself. She had never slept under the stars.

"Ok, let's stay here then. But don't forget to set the alarm clock…I don't wanna miss that bus if I have to be cold all night!"

So the girls unrolled their blankets and put on their warm clothes. Emily had suggested that they used one blanket as mattress and the other one to cover them. She knew how cold it could get during the night. When they were settled down next to each other Emily looked up in the sky and sighed. "God, it's been so long since I've slept under the stars…almost half a year…we were all out mustering some sheep and Mum and I were helping Uncle Bernard and the other hands…it was great…look there's my star!"

"Your what?" Charlotte asked surprised.

"My star. Mum picked a star for me and her so if we were ever apart we just needed to look up in the sky and we could be close to each other…"

"Em?"

"Yeah?"  
"What's your Mum like? I mean…I never knew my Mum and if yours and mine are really the same person I'd really like to know what she's like…"

Emily smiled. She loved to talk about her mother. She was the most wonderful human being in her eyes. A little annoying at times but wonderful. So she started telling Charlotte about all the little things she always did with her mother, about what her mother did on the farm, how she was usually very friendly to everybody but could also flare up if something wasn't working the way she had planned it. Emily talked and talked till she felt Charlotte relax next to her…her friend had fallen asleep. She looked up in the sky one more time and said "Good night Mum…I love you!" And snuggled closer to Charlotte.

Soon after that both girls were asleep…

They woke up again in the early morning hours when the sun already rising over the hills. Charlotte opened her eyes first and looked on her watch. It was 4:30 and the bus that would take them half way to Gungellan would leave in 45 minutes. So she woke Emily which wasn't easy…the girl was a really heavy sleeper.

"Em…come on! We need to get going or we'll miss the bus!"  
Emily turned around and tugged the blanket closer around her "Only 5 more minutes Mum…I promise I'll be right with you…" she muttered and Charlotte groaned. This was really hard work. She jogged Emily with her foot.

"Hey Em…if you don't wake up soon I'll eat all the food we have alone and you'll have to starve all day!"

That did the job. Emily turned around and looked at her friend. "Don't you dare…I'm starving!"  
Charlotte laughed. "Get off your butt then! We still need to walk the rest of the way and buy our tickets!"

So Emily got up and the girls rolled the blankets together. They ate what was left of the food they had taken with them on the way into town.

At the Truck Stop Charlotte bought their bus tickets and they climbed the bus just in time for it to leave.

They both smiled sitting next to each other holding hands. They had actually made it…they were on their way to Alex…


	14. Chapter 14

14

The girls' absence was discovered when they didn't appear for lunch on Saturday. It was usual that students didn't appear for breakfast on the weekends and although the teachers didn't like it they accepted it. But missing lunch was not normal. So when Charlotte's and Emily's seats stayed empty everybody knew that something was not right.

Ms Wellesley, who was responsible for the wing Charlotte's and Emily's room was in, first checked their room to make sure the girls weren't ill. But when she found their beds empty and untouched with both blankets missing it was clear that the two girls had escaped to somewhere.

Peggie and Babette were questioned if they knew where their roommates could have gone to but neither of the girls were much help since Charlotte and Emily had kept their plans strictly secret.

So Ms Wellesley organized search parties, that would look around the whole school area if two missing girls had maybe taken off for a picnic and forgotten the time or if something other had happened to them. But two hours later it was clear that neither Charlotte nor Emily were anywhere on the school grounds and Ms Wellesley had no choice but to contact their parents and the police.

First Ms Wellesley tried to reach Charlotte's father but nobody picked up so she tried the girl's oldest sister who was the second person on the contact list but again with no luck. She'd have to try again later.

Next up was Emily's mother and this time she was lucky.

"Newbury?"  
"Westminster College, Ms Wellesley speaking..."  
"Westminster College? Is there something wrong with my daughter?"  
"To be honest we don't know…"  
"What do you mean…you don't know? I don't understand!"  
"Mrs Newbury…your daughter and her friend Charlotte missed both breakfast and lunch today and when we went into their rooms to look for them it was empty. We've searched the whole school ground and are now sure they're not here…we've already called the police, they'll be here any minute now…"  
"I hope you don't mean there are indications that a crime might have happened Ms Wellesley!"  
"No, no, Mrs Newbury, right now it rather looks like the girls ran away…there are some blankets missing and some of their clothes as well…do you know if Emily had a fight with somebody?"  
"No, this is all very strange. My daughter wouldn't just run away like that…that's not like her!"

"That's what I thought. And it's not at all like Charlotte either…but I assure you we're doing everything we can to find them and there's no need for you to come here at this stage."  
"Are you sure? Because I could be with you in a couple hours…"

"I'm sure Mrs Newbury. I'd be better if you stayed by your phone in case your daughter calls. We'll keep you informed on everything that happens, I promise!"

After the phone call with Emily's mother Ms Wellesley tried Charlotte's relatives again but with no luck. So she went back into the girl's suite to question their roommates once again.

Both girls once more said they had no idea where Charlotte and Emily could be.

"Did you girls have a fight?"

"No Ms Wellesley, we didn't. Babs and I barely got to see Em and Char in the last few days. And even before that…but it's been worse since last weekend." Peggie said.

"Did anything happen last weekend? Do you know anything?"  
"No, honestly. Emily was home I think and Charlotte was away, too. But I don't exactly know where…she's usually here over the weekends but not last one…"  
"Wasn't it a place called Kimberly or something?" Babette asked her friend.

"Could be…it was something with K that's for sure….Killarney! Yeah, that's it! I think that's what the place was called…"

Ms Wellesley thanked the girls for their help and went back into Charlotte's and Emily's room and looked on Charlotte's desk if she could find anything about that mysterious place Charlotte had been to over the weekend. But she couldn't find anything but a few letters from Charlotte's aunts and her father. She searched the bed again and finally she found what she had been looking for…hidden under the mattress was a letter that mentioned Killarney as the return address. Ms Wellesley's heart jumped. May this Mr Ryan would have an idea where Charlotte could be.

It didn't take the teacher long to find out the phone number of Killarney and she hoped that Mr Ryan would be home. When somebody finally picked up it was the housekeeper but when the lady heard this call was about Charlotte she gave Mr Ryan's satellite phone number to Ms Wellesley.

"Hello? Ryan here?" she heard a male voice.

"Am I speaking to Alex Ryan?"  
"Yes, who am I talking to please?"  
"Mr Ryan, my name is Ms Wellesley and I'm a teacher at Westminster College…"  
"Charlotte!"

"So you know Charlotte McLeod-Johnson?"  
"Yes, I'm her uncle and godfather. She was here visiting me last weekend. Did anything happen to her?"  
"We're not sure but we don't think so. Charlotte and her roommate Emily have been missing since this morning and we think they ran away…"  
Just then a police constable walked into Ms Wellesley's office. "Hold on a second Mr Ryan…" she said and covered the receiver with her hand "Any news?" she asked the constable who nodded. Ms Wellesley looked at him expecting.

"We've asked around in town and it looks like the girls got on the bus to Fisher this morning. The man at the truck stop said they asked about a place called Gungellan first but only had enough money for the tickets to Fisher…"

"Did you contact the bus driver?"  
"Yes, he's already on his way back though but confirmed that the girls were on the bus…the police in Fisher is informed."  
"Hold on" Ms Wellesley said and turned her attention back to the phone "Mr Ryan, have you ever heard of a place called Gungellan?"

"Sure, that's the nearest town here. I'm about 2 hours away from there. Why? Is Charlotte there?"  
"Not yet but it looks like she's on her way there. Mr Ryan, when Charlotte visited you over the weekend…did anything happen? Did she talk about anything special?"  
"Not really, we talked about her mother a lot and she called me again on Monday to ask a few more things about her for an essay she needs to write about her but that was it…what shall I do? Drive into Gungellan and see if I can find her there?"  
"No, just stay at home in case Charlotte shows up. The police is informed, they will look out for the girls. Thank you Mr Ryan, I'll keep you updated."

Glad they finally had a trace Ms Wellesley called Emily's mother again and told her what they had found out and Mrs Newbury seemed relieved as well.

The teacher hung up and sighed "What happened to Charlotte and why did Emily go with her?" she asked herself out loud.


	15. Chapter 15

15

After Prue had hung up the phone she turned to Laura who was standing behind her.

"And?" her friend asked.

"It looks like Emily ran away with her roommate to find the girl's uncle. I don't know what has gotten into that girl! Since when doesn't she talk to me anymore? If I wasn't so worried I could kill her!" Prue told Laura what Ms Wellesley had told her "I have the phone number of this Mr Ryan. Do you think I should call him? I would love to go there and wait for the girls so I can whip Emily's arse for running away!"

"If you wanna go it'll be ok Prue, we understand. Call this Mr Ryan and ask if it's all right to come. I'll wait by the phone here and you could take our sat phone with you so I can tell you."

"Thanks Laura…" Prue said and was already dialling the number Emily's teacher had given her.

"Ryan?" she heard on the other end.

"Mr Ryan? My name is Prudence Newbury…I'm Emily's mother…she's the girl that…."  
"Yeah, I know who Emily is, I met her last Friday when I picked up Charlotte…what can I do for you?"  
"Oh…well…the school just called me and told me that the girls are possibly on their way to you and I wanted to ask you if it would be all right…if I could come to your place and wait for the girls there…you see, Emily's my only daughter and I'm really worried…"  
"Mrs Newbury…" the man on the other line interrupted her "it's all right. You can come and stay here as long as you want. I'm sorry, I really don't know what has gotten into Charlotte…since they're on their way to come here this must have all been her idea"

"Thank you Mr Ryan…and don't worry, we'll find out whatever happened, let's just hope nothing happens to them and the police find them!"

Prue wrote down the directions Mr Ryan gave her and then packed a few things together so she could stay somewhere over night. It was already late afternoon and she doubted that she would be back home that day.

30 minutes after her phone call with Ms Wellesley Prue was on her way to Killarney.

Alex looked at the phone. He had just stopped talking to Emily's mother and somehow her voice sounded very familiar but he couldn't say from where. He shook his head and placed the sat phone down. He had just finished up his work and was now heading back to the Killarney homestead still wondering why on earth Charlotte had run away. This was not like her at all. Tess had told him Charlotte had gotten a little into trouble last term because of playing some pranks on a few students but it was never anything serious. It had to have something to do with Claire and the fact they talked about her so much the weekend before. That was the only reason Alex could think of why Charlotte had run away and was on her way to here.

"Why Charlotte? Why?" he said out loud as he got out of the car to look for Rhonda. He found her in the kitchen baking some biscuits.

"Rhonda, could you get one of the guest rooms finished? We'll have a visitor tonight. Charlotte didn't call by any chance?"  
Rhonda shook her head "No, I hope it was all right to give the teacher your sat phone number, Alex. She said it was something about Charlotte so I thought…"  
"It's ok Rhonda, thank you. Charlotte ran away from school with a friend and it looks like they're on their way to here. Our visitor will be Emily's mother."  
"Alex, I hate to say this…but I still need the next three days off…I promised my sister to help her with her birthday party and I don't think I can cancel that…"  
"It's all right Rhonda, I understand. I think Mrs Newbury and I will manage to survive without you. Just make sure you leave me your sister's number so I know where to find you. I'm sure you want to know how this turns out, too." Alex said with a wink.

Rhonda smiled "Thank you Alex. You're a good man. And I'm sure Charlotte will be all right…"  
"I sure hope so! And then I'll arrest her till she's 30! I don't know what she was thinking!"

"I'm sure she had her reasons Alex and she'll tell you when she's here. I'll go and fix up a room for Emily's mother then and you'll have to take the biscuits out of the oven when the alarm rings…but hands off!"

Alex smiled and Rhonda left the kitchen to go upstairs.

Prue had finally found the driveway that led up to Killarney. She gotten lost on her way several times and it was already starting to her dark now so she was glad she was finally here. She had called Laura just a few minutes ago to hear if there were any news on the girls but her friend had told her that they were still searching. It looked like the girls had gone missing again in Fisher since they couldn't afford the rest of the bus ticket to Gungellan.

Prue was nearly out of her mind now. If Emily had gotten lost out in the country she probably wouldn't have been that worried because the girl had grown up there and knew what needed to be done to survive. But the city was new territory for Emily so Prue could only hope that her friend Charlotte knew what to do.

Finally the house came in sight and even in the twilight Prue could see what a beautiful house and property this was.

'Wow' she thought 'The people living here sure must have a nice life and a lot of money…'

She parked the car at the front door and got out. She wanted to have a quick look around before she would go inside. She knew nothing about the people living here and she had forgotten to ask Mr Ryan if he was married or had a family. The sign at the front gate had indicated that this property was his.

Prue headed for the back of the house and she didn't know why but somehow she seemed to know that there was a swimming pool in the garden and when she walked around the corner she saw it. Something about this place was oddly familiar to her but she couldn't place the feeling. When she had started the sessions with Laura shortly after she had been found at the side of the road she had had the same feeling about some smells till finally the name Prudence Newbury had popped up in her head. Later that feeling had showed up again when she had been on the back of a horse for the first time since the accident.

Prue had a look around the garden and then turned towards a huge window that obviously led into the living room of the huge house. There was light inside and she saw a tall, dark haired man standing in front of a cabinet looking at a picture.

'Jeez he's handsome!' Prue thought to herself and felt a shiver run down her spine. She had that strange feeling again that he looked somehow familiar but washed it away. She had never been here before, how should she know him. He looked very young for being the owner of such a large and seemingly wealthy property.

She took one last look at the handsome man and made her way back to her car to get her bag.

Then she walked towards the front door and knocked.

Alex was standing in the living room looking at pictures of his family. Harry, Liz, Nick, Tess, Charlotte, Claire…he picked up her photo and ran his thumb over her face. Claire's photos had been in a box all the time he had been married to Fiona but after she had left Alex just had to put them back up. "Oh Claire…I hope you're with Charlotte right now and protect her and her friend." He whispered to himself. "Can't you tell me what's going on in your daughter's head?"

He was startled when he heard a knock on the front door. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard a car pull up.

That was probably Emily's mother. He had expected her a while ago but guessed that she may have gotten lost on the way. With a sigh he put Claire's picture back on the cabinet and headed for the door. He hoped that Emily's mother wasn't too angry at Charlotte as it seemed that this whole run away thing had been her idea.

He opened the front door and started to say "Good evening you must be…" then he looked up and met the bluest eyes he had ever seen…eyes he had thought had died 12 years ago. "Claire…"


	16. Chapter 16

16

After Charlotte and Emily had reached Fisher they took their rucksacks and climbed out of the bus. This was half the way but they had no idea who they should get to Gungellan from here. Not to mention from Gungellan to Killarney which Charlotte thought were probably another two hours by car.

"Char?" she heard Emily's voice.

"Yeah?"  
"I know we don't have a lot of money…but I'm really hungry…do you think we have enough left to get something to eat and drink somewhere?"

"Em, you know we need the money if we ever wanna make it to Gungellan let alone Killarney…."  
"But aren't you at least a bit hungry? I'm starving here!"

Charlotte laughed but then felt her own stomach grumble. Yes, she was hungry. "Ok, you won, let's go find a supermarket so we can get something to eat and drink. I guess we'll have to ask somebody for the bus money anyway so we might as well ask them for the whole money."

So the girls walked away from the bus station and into town to find a supermarket. They spent the rest of their money on some bread, cheese, 2 apples and 2 bottles of water. All they had left now was 2 Dollars.

Charlotte had once lived in Fisher with her father so she knew that there was a park somewhere and the girls decided to go there and have a picnic on the grass. They needed a new plan on how to get to Alex anyway so they might as well have a nice lunch.

Once they had found the park they put one of their blankets down and started eating.

"Do you think they've found out by now we're not there?" Emily asked while she was chewing.

"Probably…it's lunch time at Westminster and since we're not there they're probably searching our rooms right now…"

"They can't find us, can they? I mean, we didn't tell anyone that we're going to see Alex but still, could they find out somehow?"  
"I don't think so…I don't think Peg and Babs will remember the name Killarney and I've hidden Alex's letter under the mattress and left the others on the desk. So even if they get the name they won't know where to look for us…it'll all be ok, Em, I promise…"

"I really hope so! Because if they call Mum, which I'm pretty sure they will, she'll rip my head off when she sees me! Mum doesn't get mad that often but if she does you better get out of the way…"

"Hmm, do you think she'd pick you up if we called her from Killarney? Or will she be too mad at you?"  
"No, she'll come if I ask her to. Why?"  
"Because…you know what you said, I could see her then…and if she's really my mother I would love to give her a hug…even if she can't remember me…"

"Charlotte?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you think Alex could know who my Dad is? I mean, if my Mum is your Mum…you said they were friends back then so I thought he might know…"

Emily looked up when she didn't get an answer from Charlotte and she saw that her friend was thinking about something.

"Hey Char…everything all right?"

"Huh?" Charlotte woke up from her gaze.

"Everything all right, you looked a little confused…"  
"Did I? Sorry…it's just I might know who your Dad is…if your Mum is…you know…"  
"You do? How? I thought you were only 4 moths old when the accident happened."

"I was…but do you remember the picture I showed you of Mum, me and Alex in Melbourne? And how happy they looked?"  
Emily nodded but still didn't know what Charlotte wanted to tell her.  
"When I was in Killarney last week Alex and I talked about Mum a lot…you know, about their life together and all those kind of things…and Alex told me that he wanted to ask my Mum to marry him the day the accident happened…"  
Emily breathed in as she realized what Charlotte had just told her. "You mean…Alex? You think he could be my Dad?"

Charlotte nodded "Yeah…and if I think about it…you look a lot like him actually…"  
"I do?"

"Yeah, your eyes, they're just like his…"  
"Wow, if that's true then…wow!" Emily didn't know what to say while Charlotte had to admit she was a little jealous. She had wished all those years that Alex would have been her Dad instead of Peter. She would have never had to leave Drovers and her life would be completely different now. On the other hand she also would have never met Emily and found out that it was possible that her mother was still alive. This whole story was just so messed up! And they needed to get to Alex so they could maybe find out the truth.

"Come on Em…we need to get going if we ever wanna get into Gungellan today!" Charlotte said and got up.

Just then a young woman walked by and heard what Charlotte had said. She stopped and looked at the girls.

"Hey, I just heard you talk about Gungellan…my boyfriend's from there…what a coincidence!"

Charlotte looked at the woman. She wasn't sure what to think "That's nice, my uncle lives there…we want to visit him there…" She carefully said.

"Oh, cool. I'm on my way to my boyfriend. I'm Kimberly, nice to meet you. I've been in the city for a while to finish my studies. That's where I met Josh. He's already been home for a year and asked me to come so I packed my things and here I am…are you going by bus?" The way Kimberly talked so openly about herself Charlotte thought she couldn't be all that bad of a person and decided that maybe that was their chance to get to Gungellan.  
"Yes, but we ran out of money…we wanted to surprise my uncle so we can't call him…" she fibbed hoping that Kimberly could give them a ride. And she was lucky.  
"Hey, I think I should have enough room for you two in my car…you want a lift?"  
Charlotte looked at Emily who nodded heavily.

"Well, I think that's even better than taking the bus! We'll be a lot quicker I reckon..."

So 15 minutes later they sat in Kimberly's car and were on their way to Gungellan…

About an hour outside of Fisher Kimberly's car started to make strange sounds and another 10 minutes later the motor started fuming and the car stopped.

"Oh no, not now!" Kimberly shouted and jumped out of the car.

"What is it?" Charlotte, who had taken the passenger seat while Emily was in the back, leaned her head out of the window.

"I don't know…" Kimberly said and opened the engine bonnet. More steam emerged and Charlotte heard her curse.

"Girls, I'm sorry but I think the engine's stuffed…I know nothing about cars so I don't know what to do…we'll have to wait till somebody comes along this road to help us…" Kimberly said when she walked up to the window Charlotte had looked through.  
"Don't you have a mobile or something so we could call your boyfriend?" Emily asked from the back "Maybe he could pick us up or something?"  
"No, sorry…all we can do is wait…"  
Charlotte turned around and looked at Emily. "I'm sorry Em…it was probably not a good idea…"

Emily shrugged her shoulders. She had agreed, too. At least they were an hour closer to Alex now…


	17. Chapter 17

17

"Claire?" Alex asked and had to hold tight of the door because his knees were about to give up on him. This could not be true…he must be dreaming. Everything around him started to spin and he thought he would wake up any minute now and she was gone again…like always but then he heard a voice.

"Are you all right? You don't look like it!"  
Alex looked at the woman in the doorway again. That was Claire…his Claire. A little older but it was definitely Claire.

"Are you Mr Ryan?" she asked him because Alex was still not able to say anything. "I'm Prue Newbury, Emily's mother…"  
That got Alex out of his thoughts. He looked at the woman one more time and saw her worried look, then he said with the strongest voice he could come up with at that time "I'm Alex Ryan…come in please!"

Mrs Newbury walked through the door and Alex just couldn't help but stare at her. She looked like Claire, she walked like Claire, she sounded like Claire, hell, she even smelled like Claire…how could this be? From the look on her face she clearly hadn't recognized him.

Alex led her into the living room but regretted it at the same time because of all the pictures of Claire he had put up. He had made the decision to find out what this was all about first before he confronted her with that.

"Have a seat! Can I get you a drink?" he asked her and was pleased to hear his voice had already gone back to almost normal.

"Just some water, thank you." She said and lowered herself on the couch.

Alex saw that she looked through the room and cursed silently as her eyes rested on the cabinet with the photos. He hurried to give her the glass of water and sat down next to her on the couch.

"Thank you. Mr Ryan, is everything all right? You had a bit of a strange look earlier…it's nothing with the girls, is it?"

"No! I mean, I haven't heard anything since you called. Do you have any new information?"

"No. I just talked to my friend a few minutes ago but she said they didn't hear anything. I was wondering if I should call the police and ask them what the have. It can't be that hard to find two girls that age that are wandering around on their own!"

Alex could hear the anger and concern in her voice and felt for her. He knew what she was feeling because he was going through exactly the same.

"I'm sorry Mrs Newbury…this all seems to be Charlotte's idea and I really don't know what she was thinking…"

"It's Prue…and I'm sure my daughter had a good reason to go with Charlotte. Emily usually doesn't do things she isn't fully convinced off…"  
Alex had to smile as he thought about his encounter with Emily a week earlier. "Yeah, she seemed pretty self-confident when I met her last week."  
Prue looked at him and sighed "I hope she didn't say anything inappropriate…that girl can get herself into trouble by saying something faster than you can look…"  
Now Alex had to laugh. That was exactly what Emily had said. "Nah, she just wanted to marry you off to me, that's all…" he heard himself say before he could stop it.

"She what? Oh my god…I'm so sorry Mr Ryan…I really don't know where she has that from…" Prue's face had turned a nice red colour.

"It's ok…she apologized for it right afterwards. She's a really nice girl and Charlotte talked a lot about her over the weekend she spent here. And it's Alex…"

Prue seemed relieved "Charlotte seems like a nice girl, too. Emily talked a lot about her, too. She even asked me for a photo of her and me to show it to Charlotte…"  
And suddenly it dawned on Alex why the girls had run away and why Charlotte had asked him all those questions about Claire earlier that week…the girls must have had compared their photos and must have had the same experience Alex had just had…they had seen the same woman on those pictures.

Alex made the decision to confront Prue with the pictures of Claire now. He knew nothing about that woman opposite of him but maybe she could bring light to all of this.

"Prue…I think I know now why the girls ran away…it's the same reason I looked so shocked when I opened the door…" he got up and walked over to the cabinet to pick up the photo of Claire he had looked at earlier.

"I don't know if Emily told you that Charlotte's mother died when she was just a little baby but when my niece was here last weekend she asked for a picture of her mother, too. My guess is that the girls showed their pictures to each other…"

Prue looked confused "And what could make them run away?"  
Alex took a deep breath and handed Prue the picture of Claire. "Because this was Charlotte's mother…"

Prue looked at the picture Alex had just given her and gasped. How could this be? It was as if she was looking in a mirror and saw a younger version of herself. Now she understood why the girls could have decided to run away after they had shown each other the photos of their mothers. And it was also clear why Emily had called her Tuesday to find out more about Prue's past.

Prue looked at Alex who had sat down next to her again.

"You said Charlotte's mother died when she was a baby…can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, if this helps to clear the confusion…" Alex said and sighed. It sill hurt him to talk about what had happened that day and the thought of the burning Ute still broke his heart into pieces.

"Claire, that's Charlotte's mother, and her sister Tess and Charlotte were on their way back from Gungellan to Claire's property Drovers Run, it's a neighbouring property of Killarney. A brumby crossed the road and Claire somehow lost control over the car and they didn't stop until their Ute was on the edge of a cliff about to fall down. From what Tess told us Claire was trapped under the dashboard so she asked Tess to get Charlotte out of the car and get help." Alex had to stop and breathe in. "I don't know what exactly happened to Claire after that but Tess came running up to us on Drovers and sent us straight out to where the accident had happened to look after Claire. She was beside herself and it took us a while to get the information about what had happened and where we could find Claire…" again Alex to stop because the sight of a burning vehicle appeared before his eyes. He swallowed and went on "When we finally got to the cliff Claire's Ute had gone down and was burning like hell…there was nothing we could do anymore…" Alex's voice was breaking and he felt tears burning in his eyes.

Prue was silent for quite a while then she asked "Did you ever find her body?"

Alex was surprised by her question "No, why do you wanna know?"  
"Can you tell me when exactly the accident happened?"

Alex told Prue the date and saw the woman turn pale.

"Prue, are you all right?" he asked her. The date and what he had told her about Claire's accident obviously affected her deeply.

Prue shook her head and looked up at him "The date you just told me…that was the day I was found at the side of the road…with a memory loss…"


	18. Chapter 18

18

Charlotte and Emily were sitting in grass beside the road next to each other and watched Kimberly walk up and down next to the car. They had been there for over 4 hours now and nobody has stopped. There had been a few cars going by but none of them had even slowed down to help Kimberly and the girls.

"What a mess…" Charlotte mumbled and buried her head in her hands. Emily petted her back.

"It's not your fault the car broke down…" she said.

"No, but I was the one that talked to Kimberly and got us in that car. I'm older, I should have taken better care of us…"  
"Hey, I wanted to get into that car, too! And I don't care if you're older or not…we're in this together. None of this is your fault…"

"Alex will be so mad at me when he finds out…" Charlotte said.

"So will my Mum. I don't think I'll be allowed to go on a ride for a long time other than for work…and that's probably it for the school riding team as well…"  
"Oh Em, I'm so sorry…"  
"Like I said, not your fault. I wanted to come with you. And besides, I wanna know if my Mum's your Mum, too."  
"She is Em, I can feel it. You're my little sister and Alex is your Dad. I just know it."  
"What do we do when Mum and Alex find out? I mean, Mum can't remember anything so it'll be a shock for her."  
"Just imagine the shock Alex will get when he sees your Mum…he thinks she's been dead for 12 years!" Charlotte chuckled. Somehow the thought of Alex's face made her smile.

"Char?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you think Alex still loves Mum? You said that he wanted to marry her before the accident happened…do you think he still wants her?"  
Charlotte was lost in her thoughts for a second then she said "Yeah, I think he does…when I was with him he talked about how much he still loves her. Yeah, I think he would still want her. Why are you asking?"  
"I don't know…it's just…I thought it would be nice if Mum and Alex could get back together…I'd have a real family then, a Mum and a Dad and a sister…"  
The feeling of jealousy rose up again in Charlotte but she once again brushed it away. "Nice thought but I don't think Alex is the problem in that…"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Mum…she's lost her memory which means she can't remember that she once loved Alex. So even if he still loves her – which I'm pretty sure he does! – it wouldn't mean they get back together because she has to love him, too."  
"Oh…Yeah, I haven't thought about that yet…" Emily said and thought for a while. Then her face lit up as a thought entered her mind "But if she once was in love with don't you think she could fall in love with him again?"  
"What do you mean?" Charlotte looked at her friend.

"I mean that we should try and make Mum fall in love again with Alex!" Emily said and was proud of herself.

Charlotte frowned and said "I don't know Em…I'm not sure that'll work…"  
"Why not? I know my Mum…and you know Alex. It'll work out just fine. Come on, you love Alex, don't you?"  
Charlotte nodded.

"And you want him to be happy…"  
Another nod.

"And wouldn't it make Alex happy to have Mum back?"  
"Yeah, I guess it would."  
"See! And Mum would be happy with him, too. You know, when I met Alex for the first time I already had the idea that he could marry Mum…"  
"You did?"  
"Yeah, remember? I asked him if he wanted to go out with my Mum?"  
"Oh right, I remember. Maybe it could really work…" Charlotte said and let her brain think about the possibility. "We'll have to make a plan if we really wanna do that…an it needs to be a good plan!"

"Yeah…we could start with getting Mum to come to Killarney."  
"That'll be easy…that's why you came with me, remember?"

"That was not the only reason but you're right. Once Mum is on Killarney we'll have to see how Alex reacts and what Mum says about the possibility she could be your Mum…"  
"Yeah…"  
The girls went on thinking about all kinds of possible reactions and scenarios and worked out several plans to get Emily's mother and Alex together. They even thought about the possibility that Prue wasn't Claire but decided their plan could still work.

When it was already quite dark Kimberly finally could get somebody to stop and help them. A young couple stopped as they saw the two girls sitting in the grass beside the road and offered to tow them into Gungellan.

Emily and Charlotte were jumping with joy and Kimberly looked really happy.

"Are you girls hungry?" the woman asked and the girls looked at each other nodding heavily. They had eaten the rest of the food they had bought a long time ago. So the woman smiled and opened a cooler box that was sitting on the backseat and took a supply box out.

"It's not much, but I have some sandwiches left over and a chocolate bar if you want one…" Charlotte and Emily happily took a sandwich and a chocolate bar while Kimberly and the man tried to get the cars ready for towing.

"Are you girls sisters?" the woman asked while the girls were eating.

Charlotte and Emily looked at each other and smiled. Then they nodded. Why not? They both thought. The chances were very high they were and it'd make things easier. Less explaining.

"Thought so" the woman said "You look very similar. How old are you?"

"Emily's eleven and I'm twelve." Charlotte proudly said.

"Nice! And the other girl's your sister, too?"  
Charlotte looked at Emily and then shook her head. "No…we…we wanted to visit our uncle but couldn't afford the bus ticket…and Kimberly wanted to take us to Gungellan."  
"Don't you know it's dangerous to go with people that you don't know?" The woman said to Charlotte who hung her head and nodded.  
"Yeah, I know…but I really need to see my uncle as soon as possible."  
"And Kimberly looked really nice…" Emily added.

"Does your uncle live in Gungellan?"  
"On a farm a bit away from there…"  
"Does he know you're coming?"  
"No he doesn't know…it was supposed to be a surprise."  
"Well, at least he won't be worried you're not there yet. Tell you what…you two can stay with my husband and me tonight and we'll take you to your uncle tomorrow. You'll get your own hotel room at the pub and we'll pay for it. That's a lot safer than staying with Kimberly, don't you think?" she looked from Charlotte to Emily and the girls looked at each other and nodded.

"It's a deal then…my name is Sarah and my husband's name is Greg…"  
"I'm Charlotte and that's Emily."

A few hours later they finally arrived in Gungellan. Greg towed Kimberly's car to the truck stop and then drove her to her boyfriend's place. After that Sarah, Greg and the girls headed for the Gungellan Pub to get two rooms and not long after that Charlotte and Emily were asleep in each other's arms, totally exhausted from their adventure…


	19. Chapter 19

19

After Prue had made her confession about her memory loss there was silence in the living room. Alex was too shocked by what she had told him and Prue's mind was still working over the thought that maybe she had finally found out who she really was. Could it be that she was Claire?

Finally Alex seemed to realize what Prue had just told him but he wanted to make sure he had heard correctly.  
"What do you mean memory loss?"

Prue looked at him like he was nuts "Memory loss means I can't remember anything…is that so hard to understand? All I can remember is the last twelve years from the day they found me. Actually, I don't even remember that very clearly, it starts a few days afterwards…"

"And nobody ever found out what happened to you?"  
"No, how should they? I couldn't even remember my name! Let alone where I was from or how old I was! Nothing…to this day it's all a huge black hole."

"Can you describe me your injuries? I mean…if you want to…"  
"Why not? We'll have to find out one way or the other…my right arm was broken and I had a huge wound on my forehead. That's where that nice scar comes from. My kneecap and my breastbone were broken as well and I had some minor contusions of inner organs."

Alex though for a second and then asked "Was it the left kneecap that was broken?"  
"Yeah, why?"

"Do you have a scar on your left thigh? From an operation?"  
"Yes…"  
Alex then moved a little closer to Prue and looked on her left cheek "And the scar on your cheek is also there…" he gently said and felt tears running down his face. She was Claire, she was really Claire…

Prue looked at the man in front of her and saw the tears. She knew what all his questions and her answers to them meant. "So you think I'm her? You think I'm Claire?" she asked and when Alex nodded broke out in loud sobs.

Alex took her in his arms without thinking and held her close while they both cried. And even after Prue's sobbing had stopped he wasn't ready to let her go just yet. He had hoped for this for so long but would have never thought it would ever come true again.

"Alex…" he heard her voice. "It's ok, you can let go now…"

"Sorry" he softly said and let her go.

"What do we do now? I mean…we still need to get proof I'm really Claire…everybody thinks I'm dead."

Alex smiled "Yeah, that'll sure be a shocker for a few people…but there's no doubt you are Claire…"  
Prue didn't know how to say it but she had to "Till we have absolute proof…could you maybe go on calling me Prue? It's been my name for the last twelve years and it doesn't feel quite right to change that yet…"  
"Sure, I can try…how did you come up with it?"  
"I did some therapy after they found me and I tried to get my memory back…but all I could come up with was the name Prudence Newbury so we thought maybe that was my name…but it seems it wasn't so I don't know where it came form."  
Alex smiled and wondered why he hadn't realized it earlier "Prudence Newbury was your mother's maiden name…"  
"Really? Wow…" then Prue remembered that she didn't know her full name yet. She only knew Claire. "And what's my name?"  
"Claire Louise McLeod…" Alex softly said. That name still let his heart overflow with love for the woman in front of him. But he knew he had to give her time. She didn't remember him or the love she had felt for him.

"Alex…could you tell me a bit about my life before the accident? I can't remember anything…"

Alex hesitated. He wasn't sure if it was good to tell her about her past. "I'm not sure it's good if I do that…I don't wanna cause any damage or so…Maybe we should ask a therapist first."  
"Alex, please! I need to know! I've had this blur in my head for twelve years and even if I can't remember after you told me at least I will know what happened…"  
"All right, if you're sure you want this then I'll be open to any questions you might have…"

They spent the next hours talking about Claire's life and what had happened. About her parents, how her mother had died giving birth to her brother, about Jack marrying Prue, Tess, about their move to the city, how Claire had met Alex and Nick, their childhood and youth together, Jack's death, Tess's return, just about everything Alex could think of. Prue mostly listened to Alex's stories and asked a few questions here and there. Alex talked and talked but tried to avoid talking about his personal relationship with Claire as much as possible. When he came to the point where he had to tell her about Peter and their affair he had to swallow and breathe in a few times. Even after all these years it hurt to tell Claire the truth.

"Where was I? Oh yeah…you got the contract with Australian Bloodlines…and Peter became a permanent part of your life…"

"What do you mean by that?"  
"How shall I put this…you and him had an affair until you found out he was already married…" Alex looked at Prue to see how she took the news.

"I didn't know he was married when we started the whole thing?"  
"No, you found out afterwards…"  
"And I dumped him after that?"  
"Except for one little fling later…yeah"  
"What do you mean with 'fling'?"

"Well, I don't exactly know what happened but you spent one more night with him…and Charlotte's the result of that night…"  
"Oh…ok. But after that night it was over?"  
"More or less, yeah. He didn't know Charlotte was his daughter till you wrote him a letter after she was born."

Prue nodded and tried to memorize what Alex had just told her.

"So, my parents are both dead, I have a half sister and a daughter…any more family members I should know of?"  
"Well, yeah. But that was something that happened after you 'died'…we found out Jodi was Jack's daughter and she now owns part of Drovers as well…"  
"Wow, so I have two sisters…where are they?"  
"Tess married my brother Nick and they live in Argentina with your niece and nephew. Jodi usually lives on Drovers but she's in London at the moment and wanted to visit Tess next week…but I bet ya they'll both be here in no time when I tell them about you…" Alex happily said till he saw Prue's face. "What is it?"  
"Could we wait with telling them? Right now I really have enough to deal with…not to mention I can't even remember them…"

"I guess we could keep it a secret for a little while longer…what do you want to do?"  
"I don't know actually…but somehow I'd like to stay here and see if I can get at least a few memories back…not to mention I have two daughters that are on their way to here and still missing…I'm not sure what I will do with those two once they show up here!"

Alex smiled but then turned serious again, He had realized he didn't know anything about Claire's life as Prue. For all he knew she could be married or have a boyfriend. "Clai…Prue, don't you need to call somebody that you're here? I mean…"  
Prue smiled "Nah, it's all right, I called my friend before I drove up to the house. She knows I'm here…" Alex had been holding his breath when she had said friend and when he realized she wasn't talking about a boyfriend he breathed out again.

Prue laughed. She somehow knew why Alex had been holding his breath "No, I'm neither married nor do I have a boyfriend."  
Alex had to smile at her comment "Was it that clear?" and when she nodded he tried to explain himself "I just thought…you know…with Emily…"  
"I was pregnant when they found me. The doctors said it's a miracle she survived but she already must have had her strong will back then." Prue said and then added "Hey…since you know my life so well you could maybe tell me if I had a boyfriend before the accident…I mean, there obviously must have been somebody…" she said with a wink.

Alex had heard Prue's words but they hadn't fully reached his brain yet. If she was pregnant when they found her she must have already been pregnant when she went down that cliff…that would mean…

"How old is Emily? I mean…when's her birthday?" he asked and Prue told him. He did a little maths and counted back the time and suddenly had a huge smile on his face.

"Hey…I wanna smile, too! What's up?" he heard Prue's voice through his thoughts and realized if he told her what he had just found out she'd know they had been more than just friends. He hesitated for a moment till Prue said "Come on, you must know with who I was together back then! You knew everything else…please! I'd really like to know who Emily's father is…"

Alex knew that she wouldn't give up till she knew the truth so he sighed "Yes, I know who Emily's father is…" he hesitated again but then the picture of the girl appeared before his eyes and he smiled. "This may come as a surprise for you as well as me but…I'm Emily's father…" he said and felt a shiver run down his spine as he spoke the words. He had a daughter…


	20. Chapter 20

20

Prue was shocked by what she had just heard. So far Alex hadn't mentioned anything about a relationship between him and Claire, only their deep friendship over a long time. If she could only remember…but why should he be lying? So far he had been honest about everything, she had seen it in his eyes. The same eyes that had were now wet from tears again. The eyes that were so similar to her daughters. He was telling her the truth…

"We…were together? Why haven't you said anything about that yet?" she finally asked him.

"I didn't wanna push you or anything…I'm sorry. I swear I had no clue about Emily until you told me you were pregnant when they found you. I didn't even know how old she was."

After that there was silence again. Neither of them knew what to say. Prue had so many more questions now about their relationship but at the same time she was afraid what Alex might tell her, expect from her. She looked at him. He was handsome yes, but she didn't know him at all. As far as her brain was concerned she had just met him a couple of hours ago. What if he expected to keep on their relationship? What kind of a relationship had that been? Had they been married, engaged, just had fun? She needed to know…at least if they had been married.

"Alex?"  
"Yeah?"  
"We weren't married…were we?"

He smiled. "No, we weren't even engaged…" he then said and Prue could hear the sadness in his voice.

"How close…was our relationship then? I mean, it must have been close enough to produce a child…"  
"Claire…sorry, Prue! I'm really not sure it's a good idea to tell you that…I mean, you can't remember any of it and it's been such a long time ago…why don't we just forget about it and be friends again…"

"Sounds good to me…but I'd still like to know what we had. Just so I know what to expect when other people see me and ask me about you…they must have known, didn't they?"  
"Yes, all our friends and family knew…it had taken us long enough to get together. If you really wanna know I'll tell you but I also want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. All that happens after this is completely up to you…" he said as if he'd been reading Prue's thoughts.  
"Thank you Alex, I really appreciate that…"  
"Ok, as you already know, me and you were friends for a very long time. Almost all our lives. And all this time I loved you but didn't know…it took us both 15 years to realize what we felt for each other but once we had admitted it, it was perfect. The truth is…the day you had the accident…" Alex's voice broke and Prue could see more tears in his eyes "The day of the accident I wanted to ask you to marry me…"

Now Prue had tears in her eyes as well. Although she didn't know any of her feelings back then and couldn't remember a thing of what had happened she could almost physically feel Alex's pain. She couldn't imagine what it was like to love somebody that much and lose him the day you want to propose.

"I'm so sorry Alex…I…I didn't know…I shouldn't have asked…you were right, maybe we just should have left it as it was…"  
Alex had gotten his voice back and looked at her "No, don't feel sorry…it's just old feelings welling up again. We'll make a new start here and now and see where it takes us, all right? That is if you can trust me…I mean, you don't actually know me, do you?" He said with a weak smile.

Prue smiled back "No, but that's all right with me. I've lived without a past for the last twelve years and although I still can't remember it you've just given me a past and I really trust you…so, where do we go from here?"

"Thank you…and why don't we go to bed now? It's late and I'm not sure if we'll hear anything from the kids tonight…I really hope they're all right…"  
"Me too! And if they are I'm gonna kill them with my own hands I swear!" Prue looked on her watch and then realized how late it actually was. Her and Alex had talked for hours without noticing.

"Come on, I'll show you your room so you can try to sleep…it's been a long day and I'm sure they'll find Charlotte and Emily tomorrow…" Alex got up and picked Prue's bag up from the floor. She followed him into the first floor and he opened a door to a room.

"Here's your room…I've kind of taken the day off tomorrow, my hands know what to do so I'll be around in the morning. The bathroom is this door right across the hallway and if you need anything my bedroom's over there. Unfortunately my house keeper is not around for the next couple of days so we'll have to fix ourselves something to eat…"  
"Oh, that's no problem I can do breakfast for us in the morning…" Prue said and saw Alex's confused look. "What? It's my job…I do it every day, I really don't mind…"

Alex laughed. "It's not that…it's just…before the accident you were about the worst cook I can think of besides myself…"  
"Oh, well…then I've definitely changed that…" Prue said amused "Good night Alex…and thank you for everything…"  
"Night Prue…and you're welcome…" Alex touched her arm and then quickly left for his room.

Prue closed the door and sat down on the bed…what a mess! Here she was in the house of her almost fiancé that she couldn't remember, with her two daughters missing of which she also only knew one. Even though it was late she felt the need to call Laura and tell her about what had happened and what she had found out. She knew her friend would be waiting by the phone all night so she took the sat phone out of her bag and dialled her own number.

"Hello?" she heard Laura's voice on the other end of the line.

"It's me…"

"Prue! Are they with you?"  
"No, they're not here…take it you haven't heard anything either…"  
"No, you know I would have called you right away…why are you calling?"  
"Something has happened Laura…"  
"Not with the kids?"

Prue had to smile. Her friend was thinking in circles…they had just discussed that nobody knew anything. "No…but I know who I am now…"

"You do? Did your memory come back?"  
"No, but I was the reason the kids ran away…Laura, I'm Charlotte's mother, too…"

And in the next half hour Prue explained to her friend what her and Alex had found out that evening and why Emily and Charlotte had run away.

"So…you are Charlotte's mother and that Alex Ryan you're staying with is Emily's father…did I get that right?"

"Yes you did."  
"And who is Charlotte's father?"  
"A man called Peter something…can't remember the last name right now, I heard so many names today…it looks like I had an affair with a married man and Charlotte is the result of that."  
"Oh…that doesn't sound like you…"  
"Alex said I didn't know he was married so that might explain it" Prue left the part about the fling out on purpose. The story was complicated enough the way it was. "Oh Laura, you wanna hear something funny?"

"Yeah, go right ahead…this story is so strange that I could do with a laugh right now."  
Prue chuckled. "Alex just said that I couldn't cook before I had the accident…"

She could hear her friend laugh on the other end of the line. "Well, that would explain why you had to learn it from scratch when you started to work for us…"

"Oh yeah…Laura?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Thanks for everything you've done for me and Emily…"  
"It's all right Prue…or should I say Claire? Just promise me you'll let me know as soon as you get notice of the kids…"  
"Like I wouldn't…and Prue's fine at the moment…I don't feel like Claire yet…Anyway, I should probably try and get a few hours of sleep and so should you. Give Bernard a hug and tell him what happened and I'll talk to you tomorrow…"

The said goodnight and Prue put the sat phone back in her bag and changed for the night. When she lay in bed her thoughts drifted to her daughters. 'Where are you girls? I really hope you're all right…' she thought to herself and then fell in a deep exhausted sleep…


	21. Chapter 21

21

Emily and Charlotte woke up the next morning and both had to admit they were thankful that they had gone with Sarah and Greg instead of staying with Kimberly and her boyfriend. They felt much safer in a hotel room on their own instead of a couch in the flat of Kimberly's boyfriend.

They got up and dressed and just as they were finished heard a knock on the door followed by Sarah's voice.

"Hey you two…are you up yet? It's time for breakfast…"  
"We'll be right with you!" Emily shouted as she stuffed the rest of her things into her rucksack. "Hurry up Char…we don't wanna be late…"

5 minutes later the girls opened the door to see that Sarah and Greg were waiting for them.

"Umm, shall we take our things with us right away or can we leave them here and come back to get them after we've had breakfast?" Charlotte asked the couple.

"Leave them here, another five minutes won't kill us and since your uncle doesn't know you're coming it doesn't matter." Greg said and Emily closed the door. They all went down into the pub to have breakfast.  
When they entered the room Charlotte held Emily back for a second because she had just seen the Constable walk outside.

"I bet ya they're looking for us…" she said and looked at Emily  
"Do you think? What will they do if they find us?"  
"Bring us back to Westminster! What do you think!"  
"Don't you think they'd take us to Alex? I mean…he's a lot closer than the school…"

"Well…maybe, but I don't really wanna risk it…we need to talk to Alex."  
"You're right. But the Constable is gone now so could we please have breakfast?"

Charlotte smiled at Emily's comment. She was really just like Alex "Ok, you're right…" she said and they both followed Sarah and Greg into the room.

Just as they sat down and Sarah was about to ask what they wanted to have for breakfast the Constable walked in again saying "Tim…I forgot to say don't…" Then he saw the girls at the table. "Look who we have here…am I right with my guess you two are Charlotte McLeod-Johnson and Emily Newbury?"

For a second Charlotte considered to run away but decided against it. They would catch them anyway and without Sarah and Greg there was no chance of getting to Killarney any time soon. So she looked at Emily and the girls slowly nodded.

"Well…you got the whole district out looking for you. I think you should come with me…"  
Emily saw the fear in Charlotte's eyes and put her hand on her friend's arm.

"Come on Char…he's right. Everything will be all right!" she said and turned to the constable "Can we get our things from our room?"

"Yes, but I'll go with you…I can't take the risk of you running away again…" the Constable replied.

20 minutes later the girls sat next to each other opposite the Constable and he was waiting for them to talk…

On Killarney Prue had woken up early as the first beams of sunlight found their way into her room. She got up and dressed because she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. When she left her room she heard snoring from the direction of Alex's room and had to smile when she thought of his comment about her cooking. After all the serious talking last night his joke had lightened up the situation.

'Well Alex Ryan…I may not have been able to cook back when you knew me but I am sure able to do it now…' she thought and headed down to find the kitchen. Her stomach was grumbling because with all that had happened since she had arrived here and with the girls missing she had completely forgotten to eat.

When she found the kitchen she looked in the fridge and saw everything in there she needed to make a wonderful cooked breakfast. Maybe the smell would wake Alex up because she didn't really wanna walk into his bedroom afraid he'd get the wrong idea.

While she was fixing up breakfast her thoughts once again drifted to the missing girls…her daughters. The thought of having a second child still amazed her and she really hoped the girls were all right so she could get to know Charlotte. Alex had showed her pictures of her last night but they had all been from when Charlotte was a little girl. He didn't have any recent ones so Prue didn't know what she looked like now. Charlotte…Prue liked the name. Alex had told her it was her sister Tess's middle name but that didn't ring any bells. Claire McLeod…her own name still sounded strange to her as well…maybe strange was not the right word…unusual probably covered it better. 'I should get used to people calling me like that…' she thought and turned the sausages in the pan.

"Claire McLeod in an apron cooking…that's a sight…" she heard Alex's voice behind her and had to smile.

"Well…I didn't know I couldn't cook…so quit complaining and set the table so we can eat…" she told him and turned her attention back to the pan.

She heard Alex get some plates and cutlery and shortly after that she placed everything she'd cooked on the table.

"Wow Clai…Prue. That smells really nice…I'm really glad you can cook now…"  
Prue had realized how hard it was on him to keep calling her Prue but was thankful he tried. Who knew…maybe she'd get used to the thought of being Claire McLeod at one point…

"And it tastes even better…I'm impressed! You're not by any chance looking for a job as a cook?"  
Prue laughed "No, I already have one…and besides, I thought you had a house keeper?"  
"I do, but Rhonda isn't the youngest anymore, she won't be round forever…"  
"Well, sorry to disappoint you Alex but I already have a job as a housekeeper and I'm really not looking for a new one…"

Alex realized that he didn't actually know what Claire had been doing all these years. He knew she had brought up Emily on a farm but that was all.

"So you're a housekeeper then? On a farm?" he asked her and hoped she would jump in and tell him what she had been doing all this time.

Claire nodded. "Yeah, I'm working for my friends Bernard and Laura Shaw and have lived on their farm ever since I was released from hospital. Laura is a counsellor and worked with me after the accident…"  
"Do you like it? I mean…working there, the farm and everything."  
"It's all I've ever known, all I can remember. Laura and Bernard are more like parents to me than my employers. They've taken care of me when I found out I was pregnant, Emily was born on the farm and they love her like she's their own grandchild. I couldn't just leave that, you know…"

"Hey, settle down…I never meant you should leave it and come here. It was only a joke to make conversation…"

"I'm sorry Alex…it's all just a bit too much for me at the moment…my daughters are missing, I suddenly find out who I really am and I really don't know what you expect from me…"

Alex felt sorry for Claire. He knew that while it was still kind of a shock for him to see her standing next to him he couldn't imagine how it would have to for her. Being confronted with a life she knew nothing about and couldn't remember.

"Prue…I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have told you about us…I knew it would put a lot of pressure on you…"  
"It's ok I guess, I kind of forced you into telling, didn't I?" she said with a weak smile.

"A bit…but let me tell you again…I don't expect anything of you, I'm just glad you're alive and well. Yes, I'd like to spend time with you but only if you want it and on your conditions. I know you don't know who I am anymore but I'd be happy if you could give me a chance and get to know me again. Not as a lover on anything, just as a good friend. Because that's what I've missed the most over all this time…my best mate. Just give me a chance and we'll see where it takes us. Ok?"

Claire nodded "All right…now lets eat and pray that we'll get a phone call soon…"

As if on cue the phone rang and Prue looked at Alex. Was that about the girls? Alex looked back at her for a few seconds till he left the kitchen to get to the phone. Prue followed him into the hallway.

"Killarney…" she heard him say and then a few ahas and hmms till he finally said. "Keep them there. We'll come and pick them up…" before he hung up the phone.

Prue looked at him expecting, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

"Did they find them?" she asked but she already knew the answer by the smile on his face.

"They sure did…Constable Rogers said he found them at the pub about an hour ago with a young couple that had taken them here. They're at the police station. I told him to leave them there and we'd pick them up…"  
Prue felt like a ton of rocks fell off her heart. The girls were safe and sound waiting to be picked up. Then she smiled and said "Do you think it would teach them a lesson if we left them with Constable Rogers for a little while longer? I'm relieved they are all right but so mad at them at the same time…"  
Alex smiled "Good thinking there McLeod…" he said before he could think and then added "Sorry…Prue"

Prue smiled at him "It's ok, I guess I gotta get used to it at some point…"  
They went back into the kitchen and finished their breakfast while deciding it would be best if Alex picked the girls up alone and leave the surprise part about Prue being on Killarney for later…


	22. Chapter 22

22

Constable Rogers hung up the phone and looked at the girls at the other side of the desk. They looked at him with wide open eyes, scared of what he was going to say.

"That was your Uncle Charlotte…" he slowly said and looked at the girls' reactions.

Charlotte's eyes grew even wider as she asked "And?"

"And he'll come and pick you two up…" as soon as he said that a smile appeared on both girls' faces.

Since it would be at least two hours till Alex Ryan would be here to pick the girls up Constable Rogers decided to give the girls a little lecture about running away.

"Now, while we wait…do you two have any idea how dangerous it is to run away?"

The smile on both girls' faces disappeared and the dropped their heads.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to get in a car with people you don't know?"

Both girls nodded.

"Do you have any idea how lucky you two are that you're still alive?"  
He went on lecturing them until he heard Emily's stomach grumble. That was the sign for him to stop. He looked at both girls who still had their heads down looking very guilty. He had to smile…they wouldn't run away again in the near future…

"So…since you two didn't have breakfast I take it you're both pretty hungry…" Emily first looked at Charlotte then both girls looked at him in surprise. He had to smile.

"Tell you what…why don't I go and get something to eat and drink for you two and you can think about an apology for your parents and family…"

The girls nodded heavily and Constable Rogers got up to get them breakfast. When he was already almost out the door he turned around again and said "I hope you're still here when I get back…next time won't be as simple again…"

Both girls nodded heavily.

When Constable Rogers had left Charlotte breathed out heavily and said "That was close…when he picked up the phone I thought he was going to call the school so they come and pick us up. I'm glad he called Alex instead…"

"Have you thought about what you're going to tell Alex yet? I mean…he'll want to know why we ran away for sure…"

Charlotte sighed "No I haven't. I hope he doesn't start asking right away…I'd rather tell him when not everybody can hear us…"

"Do you think he'll take us back to school tonight?" Emily carefully asked. She still had the hope that she wouldn't be banned from the riding team if she was back in school on Monday.

"I don't know, probably. I hope he's not too mad at us and takes us to Killarney first though…I want to show you my room!"

"Do you think he will talk with the headmaster after we'll talk to him…you know, about our punishment for running away…" Emily was really afraid she would have to leave the school again.

"I don't know, it depends on how mad he is…but I don't think we'll get punished all that much. They won't kick us out if that's what you think."  
"You sure? Because I really like the school and you know I wanna be a vet one day so I need to go to a good one…"  
Charlotte hugged her friend and said "Don't worry, it'll be all right…come on, we should really think about what we're gonna say to Alex when he comes so we don't have to say anything about Mum…"

About three hours after Constable Rogers' call Alex parked his car in front of the police station. Claire was still on Killarney and he had given her a couple photo albums his Mum had made a long time ago. They had comments under most of the pictures so Claire would get an idea of who was who. He had promised to call her in time before they got back so she could prepare some lunch. The thought of Claire wearing an apron and cooking this morning still brought a smile to his face. During breakfast they had talked a bit more about her and Emily's life and Alex had been pleased to hear the girl was such a good rider and enjoyed farm life so much. When he had heard the girl's goal was to be a vet he had been very impressed. He couldn't remember if he had had a goal in life at the age of 11 other than beating his brother and best friend at everything they did. And she was his daughter. He felt the shiver again that crept up his spine every time he thought those words…a daughter. With Fiona not being able to carry a child he had given up the hope to have a child one day completely. And now he had found out that he had had a daughter for 11 years already. He wondered if the girls had also figured out that he was Emily's father…

With a sigh Alex got out of his car. He had let the girls stew long enough, it was time to take them to Killarney. When he walked into the police station he already heard the laughter from the back room and had to smile when he stood in the doorway. Charlotte and Emily were on one side of the table, Mike Rogers on the other and on the table itself was a board game and the way it seemed one of the girls was winning. He took a long look at Emily for the first time in realization that she was his daughter before he said "Hey Mike, I thought it was your job to punish those two but it almost looks like you're collaborating with them…"

When Charlotte heard her uncle's voice she jumped off her chair and flew in his arms shouting "Alex!"

Alex gave her a short hug before he placed her back on the floor trying to be serious "You know Charlotte…if wasn't so glad to see you alive and well I would be really mad at you. What the heck did you think just running away like that and getting yourself and your friend in trouble…Nice to see you again Emily even if it's under those circumstances…" By the look on Emily's face he knew the girls had probably worked out the fact that he was her father and a warm feeling took hold of his body. She was looking at him up and down obviously looking for resemblance. He quickly turned his attention to Constable Rogers before he said anything on that matter.

"Are they free to go Mike?"

"Free as birds…if they promise me they won't get in any more trouble in the near future. Next time they won't get off the hook that easily!" The Constable said with a serious voice.

"Thank you…" Alex said and then remembered he needed to ask Mike something that he didn't want the girls to hear "Charlotte, Emily, would you please take your things to the car and wait there for me? I need to have a quick word with Constable Rogers alone"  
"Ok Alex…" Charlotte said and grabbed her rucksack and dragged Emily with her.

When they were out of hearing distance Constable Rogers asked Alex "So…what is it you don't want the girls to hear?"  
"Mike…what do you have to do to prove that a person that was declared dead is still alive?"

Mike looked a bit surprised. He had probably expected that Alex's question had something to do with the girls and them running away. "Whoa…that's a tough one Alex…I'm not really sure but I can find out. My guess would be you'll have to do a DNA test if it's possible. But I'll have to ask. Can I get back to you?"  
"Sure, no hurry…"

"Any special reason you wanna know that?"  
"Maybe…but I've promised not to say anything just yet…I'm expecting your call…and thanks for finding the girls…"  
"No worries! I'll let you know as soon as I know"

Back outside Alex saw that both girls were already in the car buckled in on the back seat making the most innocent faces when they saw him walking up. He had to suppress a smile really hard but he wanted to stay serious even if those two looked so sweet there sitting next to each other.

Slipping on the driver's seat he looked in the rear-view mirror. "No need to look so innocent you two…you know pretty well what you've done. I'll give you another two hours to think about it before we have a talk on Killarney. And then I'll take you back to your school where you both belong!" he said as seriously as he could and then backed out and they were on their way to Killarney…


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: Sorry...slight mix up with the chapters...oops...so here is really chapter 23! And it also seems I'm not getting emails about reviews again so I can't reply to them...sigh...so...to all who reviewed...thanks a lot, it means a lot to me!_

23

Prue sat in the living room still flipping through the photo albums Alex had given her. This was the last one…her sister's wedding. Everybody looked so happy and Prue was once again amazed at how similar Charlotte looked to Emily at the same age. Alex had told her that they were not looking all that similar now but you could still see they were sisters. Prue couldn't wait to see Charlotte…Alex had showed her a picture of herself with 13 and had said that that was how Charlotte looked like but she wouldn't believe it till she saw it with her own eyes. It was a strange feeling to know you have a daughter that is almost grown up and to have never met her. She guessed that Alex was probably feeling the same about Emily.

Prue closed the album and put it to the others. She had hoped secretly that looking at the pictures of people she once knew would maybe bring her memory back but Laura had warned her that after such a long time that was very unlikely. With a sigh Prue got up and wandered around the house restlessly. She didn't really know what to do. Alex had left over 3 hours ago and now that she was finished with the photo albums she had nothing else to do. The school was informed that the girls were safe and coming back tonight and since she was a guest here there was nothing to do for her. Prue wasn't used to just sitting around and doing nothing. At home she was always busy with cooking, cleaning, helping out with the cattle or just taking care of the horses. Finally she found an old newspaper with a crossword puzzle in it and sat down in kitchen to do it. She had always thought it was funny that she could remember the names of famous people but not her own.

She was so lost in her thoughts and trying to do the crossword puzzle at the same time that she startled when the telephone rang. Prue picked up the receiver and prayed that this was Alex's promised call to tell her she could start on lunch and not somebody of his or her family. With a sigh she picked up and said "Killarney…"

"Hi, it's Alex…" she heard his voice on the other end and was relieved.

"Hi…where are you? Are the girls all right?"  
"Yes, they're fine…we're about an hour away, maybe less so if you want to you can make us some lunch…I think the girls are a little starved, they didn't get all that much for breakfast and had no dinner last night…"  
Prue laughed "I bet if I listened closely enough I could Emily's stomach grumble…" she knew her daughter too well…the girl was always hungry.

"Could be…" Alex said and Prue could hear the smile he had on his face "Anyway…I better stop before I run us off the road. See you in a bit!"

"Righto…lunch will be finished when you're here."  
Finally Prue had something to do! She jumped up and once again searched the fridge to find something she could make them…

After a silent two hour drive Alex pulled into the Killarney driveway. None of the girls had said a single word the whole time but Alex had seen them exchange silent messages with their eyes more than once when he had looked in the rear-view mirror. He found it amazing how close those two looked after they had only known each other for a couple of weeks. A smile appeared on his face. The two reminded him a lot of Claire and Tess shortly before Claire had that accident. He wondered what Tess would say when she found out her sister was alive? And how would Charlotte and Emily react to seeing Claire at Killarney? 'Only one way to find out…' he thought.

Alex stopped the car in front of the house and turned around to face Charlotte and Emily trying to be as serious as he possibly could. "Well, you've had enough time to think now. Is there anything you wanna tell me?"

The girls exchanged another look then Charlotte started "I'm sorry Alex…really sorry…This is all my fault and I know we shouldn't have run away. There's something we really need to tell you and we just couldn't wait another two weeks…Is the school very mad at us? I really don't care what they do with me but you have to tell them that all this was my idea and Emily had nothing to do with it…"

"Char…" Emily started to say but was interrupted by the older girl. "It was my idea and that's that!"

"But it wasn't you alone Charlotte…"  
"Yes it was!"  
Alex watched the dispute between the sisters and had a hard time hiding his smile. He swallowed and then said "I don't really care whose idea it was and who only followed. You're both here now and that means you both ran away from school. And no Charlotte, I don't know what they're gonna do with you and Emily but I know what I'm gonna do! Now get your things and get into the house, lunch is waiting for us…"

Charlotte and Emily exchanged yet another look and he could see the fear in both the girls' eyes.

'Good…' he thought and got out himself. He could see Emily having a look around with wide eyes and an open mouth and smiled. His daughter seemed to like what she saw.

As they walked closer to the front door it opened and Claire stepped out. She must have heard them drive up.

With all her looking around Emily didn't notice her mother at first but Charlotte did and elbowed her sister.

"Em…" she said with wide eyes

"What? You were right, this place is amaz….MUM!" Finally Emily had seen her mother. She dropped her rucksack and ran towards her. "What are you doing here?" she asked Claire and flew around her neck.

Alex could see the relief on Claire's face and the happy smile that appeared for a split second till she turned serious again "Well, I could ask you the same thing Emily. Aren't you supposed to be in school?" she said and Alex could see Emily's face drop and hear her say "Yes…I'm sorry Mum…but still…why are you here?"

Alex put an arm around Charlotte who was still standing at the same spot staring at Claire totally oblivious of what was going on around her.

"Come on, let's go inside and have lunch and you two can tell us what the hell you thought and we can tell you what brought Emily's mother here…"

Prue could feel Charlotte's look upon her and had to smile. They were all seated around the kitchen table and Alex and Emily were hungrily eating the sandwiches she had prepared while Charlotte had only taken a few bites from hers.

Alex had been right…the girl really looked like her. A lot more than Emily. But seeing those two next to each other you could still tell they were sisters. The same hair colour of dark brown, the same mouth, almost the same height and body type. Only Emily's eyes, nose and face shape were different but now that she had met Alex she knew where her daughter had them from.

"Is everything all right with the sandwich?" she asked Charlotte to wake her up from her stare.

"Yes…umm…sorry, I'm not really hungry…" the girl said but picked the sandwich up and took a bite.

Alex had noticed Charlotte's look and now looked at Prue and she nodded. So he placed down his half eaten sandwich and looked at the girls.

"Well…now that we've all filled our stomachs I think it's time we have a little talk. I think everybody in this room kind of knows why you two ran away but I hope you know that it still wasn't the right thing to do. I was as shocked as you two probably were when Emily's mother showed up here yesterday looking for her daughter. But you should have just talked to us instead of eloping and getting yourself into danger. Do you have any idea how worried you had us all?"

Alex's speech had woken Charlotte up and she now looked at her uncle "I'm sorry Alex…we never wanted to scare you…or anybody else" she said with a side look on Prue. "But when we saw the pictures we just had to find out…"  
Prue could see Emily nodding then the girl added "And what you told us on the phone just didn't make any sense and…we didn't know what else to do and Mum wouldn't have been any help so…we're really sorry that we scared you, we really didn't want that…"  
Now Charlotte nodded and after the girls had exchanged another look she said "And we're ready to accept any punishment you will have for us…"

Prue felt Alex look at her. Now it was her time to speak "Well, we'll come up with something I'm sure. But now I think I owe you an explanation about the pictures and me…and what happened to me…"  
So over the next half hour Prue and Alex explained everything that they thought had happened 12 years ago and ever since. Charlotte's and Emily's eyes grew wider and wider and their mouths opened more and more the more information they got.

When Prue and Alex were finished they looked at each other and Alex asked "So…what do you say?"

Charlotte and Emily looked at each other and then Charlotte carefully asked "So that means that Emily's mother is really my Mum?"

When Prue heard those words she felt tears welling up and could only nod.

"Can I give you a hug?" the girl asked and Prue nodded again. So Charlotte got up and hurried around the table to hug her and Prue held her close as tears were running down both of their faces.

Now it was Emily's time to look at Alex and ask him "So it's really true that you are my Dad?"

Alex nodded with tears in his eyes at the sound of those words and opened his arms so Emily knew that if she wanted a hug she was welcome.

The girl didn't have to be told twice and slipped into Alex's arms. An incredibly warm feeling took hold of his body as he realized this was his daughter he was holding…


	24. Chapter 24

24

After a few minutes of just holding each other tight and enjoying the feeling of finally having found each other Prue slowly moved out of Charlotte's embrace and said "Well, now that that's done I think it's time we talk about your punishments young ladies…"

Emily settled down on Alex's lap and looked at her sister. Prue could see fear in both her daughters' eyes and had to smile. "Don't look so scared" she said "We're not gonna bite your head off…BUT it was really dangerous to do what you did so Alex and I talked about what we're gonna do with you…"  
"And here's what we have decided" Alex went on "Charlotte, you're gonna have to call your Dad yourself and have to tell him that you ran away and apologize. He doesn't know yet because we couldn't reach him but he'll be home at one point so you're the one telling him" Charlotte was making a painful face "Do I really have to?"  
"Yes sweety, you do. You don't have to tell him anything about the reasons, you can leave that to me since we need to be sure Prue is really Claire…not that there is a doubt but anyway. The other thing is that I'm not gonna talk to your Dad just yet about letting you ride again. I'm sure I can convince him but I'm not going to do that just yet. And we won't go riding on your next visit here either. That's it for you Charlotte…"  
Now Prue took over again "Your turn Emily…I know Charlotte claims it was all her idea to run away but to be honest neither Alex nor I care about who started this and who only followed. You both ran away so you both gotta live with the consequences. And consequence is that you're not riding again till I say so…"  
"But Mum…what about the riding team?"  
"The riding team will have to wait till I decide you've been a good girl long enough." When she saw her daughter's long face she added "You two are the ones to blame for this, so no need to feel sorry for yourself. Right, let's see if we can have a nice afternoon all together till Alex and I take you back to your school…" Prue got up and headed for the kitchen door with Alex following her. The girls just stood there looking at each other.

Prue turned around "And since you both seem to be glued to the kitchen anyway…from now on till we say so you're on kitchen duty. Both of you! That involves helping with the cooking and cleaning up afterwards. You can start right away with washing up…there's the sink and I would think you both know what to do with the washing up liquid and the tea towels…"  
"But there's a dishwasher…" Charlotte started but was interrupted by Alex "That's not gonna be used at the moment. Get in gear girls, the sooner you start the sooner you're finished…" With that Prue and Alex left the kitchen

Once they were out of hearing range Prue looked at Alex and asked "Do you think we're too hard on them?"

Alex shook his head "No, I wanna make sure they never do that again…and they'll survive their punishment. Come on, let sit down and wait till they're finished with the kitchen…"

In the kitchen the girls still hadn't started on the dishes. Both tried to realize what Claire and Alex had just told them. No riding for both of them as well as kitchen duties when they came home…

"I'm sorry Em…" Charlotte said and looked at her sister. "I never wanted you to get in trouble…"  
"If you say sorry one more time Charlotte I'll have to hit you…" Emily answered "We were both in on this and Mum's right…we have to live with the consequences now."

When Emily talked about her mother it hit Charlotte that this was all real now…Her mother was not dead and Emily was really her sister! She smiled and as the grin got bigger and bigger Emily asked her "What's so funny?"

"Nothing…I just realized I'm your big sister now and can boss you around!"

"In your dreams Charlotte, in your dreams!" Emily said and added "Come on big sis, we better get started on those dishes…Mum won't let us out of the kitchen till it's all done and everything's shining again…" she picked up a plate and wanted to walk over to the sink but Charlotte stopped her.

"Do you think…do you think she would mind if I called her Mum, too? I mean…she is my mother, right?"  
Emily petted her sister's hand that was holding her arm. "I don't think she would mind at all…just ask her. She's really great, the best Mum one could wish for…"  
"Even though you're not allowed to ride now?" Charlotte asked as the two girls went over to the sink and filled it with water.

"Yeah, I know it's my own fault and it's not forever…but it'll be hard that's for sure…" Emily grabbed the first plate and put it the water to clean it while Charlotte grabbed a tea towel.  
"Believe me, not as hard as having to tell my Dad I ran away from school! He's gonna be so mad at me! And if he comes back from his business trip because of that I won't be able to come back here on our next visiting weekend…"

"Do you think Alex would mind if I came here from time to time? I mean…he is my father, isn't he?"  
"Nah, Alex will be fine. He's the best, really! I am so jealous that he's your Dad…that's what I've always wished for…" Charlotte admitted to her sister.  
"Why? Don't you love your own Dad?"  
"I do…but Alex is just so much cooler than Dad…too bad Mum doesn't remember she was in love with Alex."  
"Yeah, it would be cool if my Mum and my Dad were really together…"

"And if they married Alex would be my step-father…and that's almost like a real Dad, isn't it?"

"Sure it is…do you think Alex still loves Mum?"

"I don't know, why?"  
"Because if he does we could try and make Mum fall in love with Alex again and then they can marry and we can both live with them…"  
"Yeah, I'd like that…" Charlotte said while she was cleaning one of the plates. "Come on, let's clean those stupid dishes and then we can try to find out…" she added with a huge smile on her face…it could work, it really could work.

Claire and Alex were in the living room talking about horses when Charlotte and Emily were finished with the kitchen half an hour later. Alex was amazed that Claire still knew so much about horses even though she couldn't remember that it had once been her dream to train and breed them.

"Everything done?" Claire asked as the girls walked up to them.

"Yeah, kitchen is clean…anything else we need to do?" Emily asked and first looked at Claire then at Alex.

Alex smiled "No, think that's it. What do you girls wanna do now? Other than riding which is out of the question…"  
Charlotte looked at Emily and said "Can I show Em my room? I know it's not finished yet, but still…"

Alex looked on his watch and then at Charlotte "Tell you what…us two give Prue and Emily the grand tour of Killarney and then it should be about time we get you two back to your school…"

Everybody agreed and off they went. First the house then everything else they could reach by foot. The girls were running around always a bit ahead of Alex and Claire so the two adults were able to talk about things they didn't necessarily want the girls to hear.

"Prue?"  
"Yeah?"

"I talked to Constable Rogers when I picked up the girls and asked him what we needed to do to prove you're Claire and not dead…"  
"Oh, ok. What did he say?"  
"He wasn't sure but he thought a DNA testing would be the thing to do. He'll call me back when he knows for sure."  
"Yeah, I thought we needed to do something like that…Alex? Is it all right that we don't tell my family just yet? Do you think they'll hate me and you when they find out we've known for a while?"  
"They'll be glad to have you back, I don't think they'll be mad at all…tell you what, we do that DNA testing and wait for the result and tell them when we know for sure. They're not here anyway so I guess it doesn't matter."  
"There's something else I wanted to ask you…"  
"Go right ahead…"  
"Could I maybe stay here for a week or so? I'm sure Laura and Bernard won't mind if I take a week off and I'd really like to know more about my life…"  
Alex was surprised but really liked the idea. "Of course you can stay! As long as you want. And I'll tell you anything about your life you want to know…and maybe not know. But I'll tell you everything I know…"

After the grand tour Prue left the girls with Alex so they could prepare something to eat for the ride to school and called Laura to inform her about the latest happenings. Her friend was glad that everything had turned out all right and Prue felt confident to ask her about taking some time off. Laura was thrilled to hear Prue wanted to stay on Killarney and reminded her that she had told her many times to care more about herself. So they agreed that Prue could have two weeks off to explore her old life. Before they hung up Laura told Prue one more time that she couldn't force her memory to come back and that the chances were rare.

Prue told Alex what had been agreed on and since the next visiting weekend would be in two weeks and Prue would still be on Killarney then they decided to ask the girls if they wanted to spend another weekend together which the girls answered with heavy nodding and huge smiles.

Then they all got in the car and got on the way to Westminster College…


	25. Chapter 25

25

They reached the school when it was already getting dark and they had missed tea. The journey had been filled with laughter and jokes and funny games. The girls had made it their goal to get Claire and Alex together and they started as soon as they were heading off at Killarney always dropping hints at the two adults who seemed to overhear them but dived in on the fun.

When the four emerged the car now Charlotte and Emily took their rucksacks and wanted to head straight to their rooms but they were held back by Claire and Alex.

"Hey…" Alex said "Where are you two going? You two have a meeting with your headmaster and Ms Wellesley. Just because you already have a couple punishments doesn't mean there isn't room for more…and Charlotte, we still have to call Peter. Just because we didn't reach him before we left doesn't mean you'll get around that."

Charlotte rolled her eyes but before she could say anything Emily took her arm and said "Come on Char, Mr Vandermark will be waiting for us…"

So the girls made their way up the stairs towards the headmaster's office with Claire and Alex following.

All four of them had to sit down till Ms Wellesley was informed and could come as well then it was time for Claire and Alex to go inside first and talk about what had happened. They had called the school before they had picked up the girls at the police station to tell them the girls were all right but they hadn't talked about the reasons for the girls' escape yet.

When Ms Wellesley walked through the door she took a strict look at Charlotte and Emily before she greeted Claire and Alex.

"Mrs Newbury, nice to see you again despite the circumstances and you must be Mr Ryan. Mrs Bridgeport, can we go inside?" she asked the secretary who nodded and informed the headmaster.

Inside his office Mr Vandermark sat behind his desk and got up when his visitors entered the room. Alex looked around. Even though he had never been to Westminster College before, the headmaster's office looked just like the ones of his own headmasters and although he was a grown up man he felt a little like a 14 year old again as he took a look around. He knew they weren't here about him but he still felt uncomfortable. His school experiences were not his fondest memories, that was for sure.

'Get a grip Ryan…you didn't do anything wrong…' he told himself as he sat down in the chair Mr Vandermark offered him.

"Well…" the headmaster started "Those girls out there sure got us all busy this weekend. But we're all glad that nothing happened to them. Thank you for being here Mr Ryan even though you're not the legal guardian of Charlotte."  
"No worries, I'm her godfather…we've tried to reach her father but couldn't get a hold of him. Charlotte will have to call him later…" Alex replied.

"Right, what we'd like to know before we ask the girls themselves is…do you have any idea why they ran away? Did they tell you anything?"

Alex looked at Claire. He knew how hard it would be for her to tell the teacher everything so he was silently asking for her permission to do it for her. They had talked about what they wanted to tell the headmaster and what not. When Claire nodded and smiled he started.

"Yes Mr Vandermark, we do have an idea why the girls ran away and we even had before they were found. The situation is very complicated and even Mrs Newbury and I haven't fully worked everything out yet but while I think it was stupid of the girls to run away their reaction was quite understandable. Basically they wanted to talk to me about something they had found out and couldn't do it on the telephone…"  
"Could you maybe explain the situation a little further? We'd like to know if there's anything that needs to be done so it won't happen again." Mr Vandermark said and looked at Alex who then looked at Claire. This was her part to tell.

"Like Mr Ryan said the situation is very complicated and we ourselves are not completely sure we understand everything…but…" Claire had to take a deep breath "The bottom line is that the girls found out they're sisters which none of us knew at that time. And like I said we're still not sure about the exact circumstances but I'd like you to take that into consideration before you decide what to do with them. Also I want you to know that Emily won't be a part of the riding team for at least two weeks."

"I'm sorry to hear that Mrs Newbury but I'm sure you know what you're doing. And the part about the sisters is very surprising for me as well as Ms Wellesley I can say but it indeed explains why they wanted to talk to you. Right, I'm sure both girls have enough punishment from you so I think from our side a warning and one week confinement to their room will do." Mr Vandermark nodded to Ms Wellesley to bring the girls in but turned to Claire and Alex one more time "And I hope once you know the exact family relationships you'll let us know…"he said which sent Alex right back to being a teenager who was about to be kicked off the school.

Charlotte and Emily had stayed outside the headmaster's office wondering what Claire and Alex would tell their teachers and what punishment they would get. When Ms Wellesley opened the door and told them to come in they took each others hands and followed her inside.

Alex and Claire were sitting opposite of Mr Vandermark so the girls stood behind them still holding hands.

The headmaster looked at them strictly "Well, after talking to your mother Emily and your godfather Charlotte we've come to the decision you already have enough punishment from home so I'll let you off this time with a warning and one week confinement to your room. That means you go to school every day but you will have to eat your meals at an extra table and will go straight back to your rooms whenever you're done. I expect a full, written apology to Ms Wellesley from each of you for all the stress you caused her and I hope it is very clear to you that what you did was very thoughtless and dangerous. I hear you still have to inform your father about your break away Charlotte but after that you're off to your room for the rest of the week." Mr Vandermark looked at Emily and Charlotte who both nodded with their heads down "You can go now and thank you for coming Mr Ryan and Mrs Newbury. It was nice to talk to you despite the circumstances."

Ms Wellesley followed them outside and turned to the girls. "I expect you up in your room as soon as you're finished with Mr Ryan and Mrs Newbury…"  
"Sure Ms Wellesley…I'm really sorry." Charlotte said and looked at the teacher.

Emily nodded and added "I'm sorry, too…"  
Ms Wellesley smiled at them and answered "We'll talk about that when you're upstairs, now go and say goodbye, I'll see you shortly."

With that she left the four of them standing in the hallway.

"Right, where can we find a phone so we can call Peter?" Alex asked and put his hand on Charlotte's back.

"Do I really have to do it tonight?" the girl asked him.

"Yes you do, now go on, where are the phones?"  
Charlotte sighed and all four of them went back into the big hall to the phone booths. While Charlotte and Alex entered one, Claire and Emily sat down, Emily on Claire's lap.

"You know the number?" Alex asked and Charlotte nodded and dialled while Alex held the receiver.

"Hello?" he heard Peter's voice on the other end.

"Peter? It's Alex…"  
"Alex? Something wrong with Charlotte?" he could hear the concern in Peter's voice.

"No, don't worry, she's fine. But she's got something to tell you." With that he handed the receiver to Charlotte.

"Dad?"  
"Hello Charlotte, what's up?"  
"I'm sorry Dad but…I have to tell you that I ran away from school with…a friend to go and see Alex on Friday. I know it was a stupid thing to do and I promise you I'll never ever do it again. Please don't be mad at me. Or Alex…it was just a very stupid idea I had…a really stupid one…" Charlotte waited for Peter's reply.

After a while of silence he said "So you ran away from school and went to Alex? Why didn't you call him? Don't you know how dangerous that is Charlotte?"

"I know Dad, I'm sorry. I really won't do it again…"  
"Ok, can you give the phone to Alex again, please? I'd like to talk to him…"  
"Don't be mad at him Dad, it's really not his fault!" Charlotte shouted out.

"I won't, I promise. Now give him the phone. I love you Charlotte…"  
"I love you too Dad…Bye!" she said and handed Alex the phone. Alex motioned with his head for her to go outside and sit down next to Claire while he talked to Peter.

"Peter?"  
"Why did she run away Alex? Did she tell you anything?"  
"It was just all a misunderstanding…" Alex hated to lie but right now he didn't wanna talk about the circumstances so he changed the subject "When are you coming back?"  
"Umm, I don't exactly know…this is taking longer here than I thought…would it be all right for you if Charlotte visited you another weekend? I know she hates staying in school alone…"  
Alex was surprised. He hadn't expected that from Peter. He had rather thought Peter would be mad at him and Charlotte so this got him completely off guard and saved him from asking if she could come back to Killarney.

"No, I think we'd both like that…listen Peter…this is getting expensive…I'll take Charlotte till you're back, no problem. Just let me know in time when you're planning to come home…"

They said goodbye and when Alex left the phone booth he was looked at very curiously by three sets of eyes. He had to smile at the sight of Claire with Emily on her lap and Charlotte snuggled up to her. It looked good.

"What did he say?" Charlotte finally asked him.

"Not much, he won't be coming back soon so you can come and stay with me as often as you want…let's get you to your room girls so we can say goodbye and Ms Wellesley can have a word with you…"

They took the girls' rucksacks and made their way to the room. Ms Wellesley was already waiting in the lounge room and Peggie and Babette were already in their room.

Claire asked the teacher if they could have another five minutes and on Ms Wellesley's nodding closed the door.

"Before you say anything Mum…Charlotte and I would like to ask you and Alex something…" Emily said as her mother turned around and Alex looked at her curiously

"Well…since we now know that you are Charlotte's mother…"  
"And you are Emily's father…" Charlotte continued. "We'd like to ask if it was all right for you if…"  
"if I called Alex Dad and Charlotte called you Mum…" Emily finished her sister's sentence. Alex felt his heart overflowing at the sound of those words but took a look at Claire first to see her reaction. But when he saw her smile he knew he was doing the right thing when he said "I think that's ok, right Prue?"

Claire nodded and once again the four of them hugged till Claire said "Now I forgot what I wanted to say…so I'll just say…be good girls, don't cause any more trouble…call us and we'll see you in two weeks…"

She kissed each of the girls and so did Alex, then they left the room and let Ms Wellesley take over…


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N: Sorry it's been so long but I'm finally finished with the first part of my exams and have some time on my hand to bring you another part..._

_I hope you enjoy it and will let me know if you do or not!_

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26

Later on Killarney Prue prepared a late night snack for her and Alex. He was in the study doing some bookwork that he had left undone while they were worried about the girls and trying to sort the mess about her life out. Constable Rogers hadn't called back yet, probably because it was still Sunday, but Alex had looked some things up on the internet and they had found out that a DNA test would take about two weeks and had already ordered the necessary equipment. It would arrive within the next days and Alex had been sure that Constable Rogers would call him back till then. As soon as her own identity was proved they would have to change Emily's birth certificate. But that also needed a paternity test so they would have to ask the nurse at the school to help them with that.

'Such a mess…' Prue thought but on the other hand she was relieved that she finally knew who she was. And even though the DNA testing still needed to be done, there was no doubt in her anymore that she was Claire McLeod. The evidence was too striking.

Prue took the plate she had prepared for Alex and tried to remember where the study was. In the end she followed the light that came through the open door.

Alex was sitting over some books looking very concentrated. Prue had to smile, he reminded her a bit of Bernard looking like that. He probably liked bookwork as much as her boss…not at all.

"Hey, need help?" she asked Alex from the door, plate and cutlery in hand. "I got your dinner here…"

Alex looked up "Ah, thanks Prue…that wasn't necessary."

"It's not like there's anything else for me to do…" Prue walked over to him and placed the plate on the only free space that was left on the desk "You know, it's known to help if you sort things first before working with them…" she just had to tease him, it felt so easy.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…my Dad used to tell me all the time…so did my little brother. I'm not a great lover of this, you know."

"I can help you a bit while you eat. That is if you wanna let me look in your books and finances…"

"Hey, I have no secrets here…but you really don't need to help. I can really do it alone, I just don't like it very much…"

"And I said I don't mind…come on, hop over and let me have a look. I do this for Bernard all the time…" Prue said and pulled a chair up to the desk. One look at the books and she knew what Alex was doing. "Ah, I see you're putting stock information into the computer…"

"I'm impressed…you really know what you're doing, huh?"

"I've lived on a farm the last twelve years…what do you think I have done there all these years? Twiddle my thumbs?"

"Well, you sounded busy with cooking and cleaning…" Alex teased her and got a punch for it.

"You want my help or not?" Prue asked but had already started on the books.

"I'm not complaining!" Alex said and reached for the plate Prue had placed on the desk. "This looks really nice…thanks a lot. So…is there anything special you wanna do tomorrow?"

Prue looked up "Not really, what is there to do?"

"Well, since I've already given you the foot tour of Killarney we could take a chance and do the horse tour tomorrow…If you want we could stop by at Drovers Run, too. It's not really far…"

"If you're worried about my bum…I'm used to riding for several hours. And I think we'll leave Drovers for another day…I don't think I feel up to it yet…"

"That's all right. We have two weeks to do that since Jodi won't be home for another 3 weeks. We can do it whenever you want."  
Prue was relieved and turned her attention back to the books. She was a little afraid of the emotions a visit to her former home might bring up. She knew Laura had said not to expect anything but she just couldn't help it.

The next morning after they had had breakfast together Alex showed Claire the stables and chose a horse for her. Claire had said she was still a good rider so he decided to give her Abaccus, a five year old spirited brown stallion…a horse that the "old" Claire would have chosen for herself. They saddled up and got out on the land and Alex was amazed that Claire was really still the best rider he had ever seen. It looked like even though she couldn't remember her old life she still had the right feeling for the horse and the skills to ride them.

They rode over Killarney and Alex showed Claire the stock and the land and they talked about his plans for the future and what he intended to do with the place. They also talked about his life after Claire's accident and how things had changed since then. They had taken lunch with them so when it was time to eat they stopped by one of the Killarney dams and had a picnic.

"Don't you have to go back to work at some point? I mean…this is a huge farm I'm sure you must be busy?" Claire asked Alex.

"Nah, I have a great overseer and good farm hands, they know what to do and can survive without me for a couple of days. I only have to try and keep up with the bookwork…"

"Well, you know where to find me…" Claire said with a wink.

"Aren't you here to have a good time and relax? Isn't that what your boss said?"

"But I'll run mad if I only sit around with nothing to do and since you told me your housekeeper will be coming back tonight I won't even have to cook anymore…I'll die of boredom!"

"Glad to know some things never change…" Alex said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't even put your feet up when you were pregnant with Charlotte…you just kept on working and working almost till the last days. It must be deeply entrenched in your personality…"

"Can you tell me more about my pregnancy with Charlotte? I'd really like to know…"

They talked for hours and didn't seem to notice how time flew by till the sun started going down. So they packed their things together and rode back to Killarney so they could have dinner together before Alex had to do some work. When they arrived Rhonda was already there and had dinner ready and although Alex had informed her about what had happened earlier it was still a shock for her to see Claire standing in front of her alive and well. Over dinner Claire and Alex discussed what they would do the next day and since Claire still didn't feel up to going to Drovers but rather wanted to do some real work it was decided she would help Alex fix some fences and move some cattle to another paddock.

After dinner Alex went to do the bookwork for the day and told Claire to entertain herself in the living room but she soon got bored of the book she had picked up and joined him in the study to help him with the bookwork once again.

The next few days all looked similar. Claire would help Alex with the work on Killarney while they were talking about whatever came to their mind. For Alex it was like he had gotten his best friend back and even though she couldn't remember their past together they were creating new memories every day. As time went by Claire seemed to be more and more at ease around Alex and started teasing him like in old times and he only too happily jumped on that.

On Wednesday they had gotten the expected call from Constable Rogers and he had told them that a DNA test would indeed be enough to prove Claire wasn't dead and to revers her death certificate.

On Thursday the equipment for the test arrived in the mail and Claire and Alex were left to think about a possibility to get hold of Claire's DNA. Alex remembered that back when Jodi had tried to find out if she was a McLeod they had taken Jack's DNA of envelopes he had sent to Tess. He was sure they could also find Claire's DNA there somewhere but he didn't wanna push Claire to go there so he was only making little jokes like the longer she avoided going the longer she'd have to be dead.

Finally on Friday night as Claire and Alex were sitting over the books like every other night of the week before she asked him "Could we maybe go to Drovers tomorrow and see if we can find a DNA sample?"

Alex looked at her and could hear the hesitation in her voice "You sure you wanna do it?"

"No…but we have to get it over with at one point and tomorrow's as good as any other day. Just promise me you'll be with me in case…you know…"

"In case you remember? Sure, I would never leave you. But remember what your friend told you…don't expect too much…"

"…it might not come back at all…I know. But I'm still a little scared…"

"Ok, that's a deal then…we're going over to Drovers tomorrow to look for your DNA and I can have a look at the place for Jodi…if that's ok with you…"

Claire sighed "Sure…Drovers Run it is then…"

* * *

_ I don't exactly know if a DNA test would really be enough to prove that somebody declared dead is still alive but I figured it might be a good start...so...just take it as writer's priviledge if I'm wrong ;)_


	27. Chapter 27

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait...still trying to get my exams under control here and pass at least part of them...so here's the next part...don't know when I'll get around to update again..._

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27

The next morning at breakfast Prue was really nervous about her visit to Drovers. She constantly told herself to not get her hopes high but couldn't help it. What would it be like if her memory returned? Would she remember her family, her friends, what she had felt for Alex?

At the thought of him Prue had to smile. He had become a really good friend over the last week and as strange as it sounded to her she really trusted him. Over the last twelve years she hadn't had contact with too many people because it saved her from explaining about her memory loss so the only people Prue really trusted were Bernard and Laura. So the safe feeling she had when she was together with Alex came as a total surprise to her.

"Hey P…what's up? You haven't even touched your breakfast…" Alex had started calling her P two days ago. She knew how hard it was on him to call her Prue instead of Claire so he had simply shortened Prue and made it into P. It was kind of like a nickname now.

"I'm not hungry today…"

"Nervous?"

"Like hell…" Prue answered and gave Alex a weak smile.

"It'll be fine…if you don't remember there's nothing to worry about and if you do then I'll be there. Come on, eat at least a bit of toast…I have to go and check something with the workers but I should be back in a few minutes…"

Prue nodded and took a bite from her toast before Alex left the room. When he was gone she packed the plates together and carried them in the kitchen where Rhonda was reading the newspaper.

"Oh Prue, I told you to leave it to me. You're a guest here and this is my job…" she told the younger woman as soon as she saw her.

"I'm sorry Rhonda, it's just…I'm nervous and I needed something to do and I'm really not used to being served. It's usually my job to do that…"

"But not now!" Rhonda said resolute "Sit down till Alex comes back and help me with this crossword puzzle…my eyes are not that good anymore and everything's so small…"

Prue was thankful for the distraction Rhonda offered her and calmed down a little.

When Alex came back ten minutes later he found Claire and Rhonda in the kitchen laughing about something. They had their heads over the newspaper and Alex could see they were doing a crossword puzzle. Claire looked a little more relaxed than she had before he had left and Alex silently thanked Rhonda for that.

"Ready to go P?" it was so much easier to call her P than Prue. For him it was just another version of calling her McLeod like he used to before her accident. Prue was just too hard for him because she wasn't Prue, she was Claire.

Secretly Alex hoped that Claire's memory would come back once they were on Drovers but he knew that wasn't likely. And even if it came back he couldn't be sure things would be like before the accident. They had become friends again over the last week and even Alex was surprised how fast it had happened. Their friendship was different now because Claire couldn't remember their past together but the joking and hassling each other had returned and Alex was happy because it felt like he had his best friend back.

Claire looked up from the newspaper and nodded. "Yeah…I guess we have to go at one point…" she said with a sigh and then turned to Rhonda "Thanks for the distraction…"

"Any time Prue…any time."

Alex got the equipment to save the DNA samples from the study and a few minutes later Claire and him were on the way to Drovers Run.

As Alex drove through the gate to Drovers he took a side look at Claire to see her reaction but her face didn't show any other expression but nervousness. At the top of the hill where you could see the Drovers homestead Alex stopped and let her have a look.

"So…this is Drovers Run, home of the McLeods. What do you think…"

"It looks beautiful…so peaceful…"

Alex knew he shouldn't ask that but couldn't help it "And memories?"

Claire smiled "No, not yet…let's get down there, shall we?"

Alex nodded and drove on.

Since he didn't know what the workers on Drovers were up to today and he didn't want them to see Claire just yet he stopped in front of the main entrance instead of the back where he usually parked. It was not like any of the hands had been here when Claire was still living on Drovers but there were photos of her in the house everywhere and he didn't wanna take the risk somebody would recognize her.

They stayed in the car for a few moments after Alex had stopped it till he said "Ready to go in?"

Claire's nervousness had reached a new high and she could only nod before opening her door and getting outside. Alex led her to the front door and opened it all the while looking at Claire for any kind of reaction.

Prue was a nervous wreck. She didn't know what she was worried about. So far nothing bad had happened and she was with Alex. As he opened the door Prue felt the need to take his hand. The door squeaked a little and Alex pressed her hand as he led her inside. Prue saw they had entered a rather dark hallway as she slowly followed Alex.

The old wood spread a smell that was familiar to her but it didn't connect with any memories. Prue only knew she had smelled that smell before and it was a good smell that calmed her down a little.

They walked further into the house and Prue saw pictures on the sideboard and she knew they were pictures of her family but there were still no memories. Her hopes she would remember sank with every step they slowly walked along the hallway but suddenly a strange feeling hit her. She couldn't place it at first. They were standing at the foot of the some stairs, a door to their right. And then she knew what the feeling was. She had had the same feeling years back when she had remembered her mother's name.

"That's Jack's study there…" she said with a smile and pointed to the door to their right.

Alex looked at her totally surprised and asked "You remember?"

Prue pressed his hand and shook her head "Not really…I just had a strange feeling and somehow knew that that was Dad's study. But it's not a real memory…just a strange feeling…I don't really know how to describe it…"

"That's ok, I think I know what you mean…it's kind of like a knowledge you have but don't know from where…"

Prue smiled "Yeah, that's it…can we go inside?"

"Sure, this is your house and we're looking for your DNA…let's get to it!"

"What if we don't find anything? What are we gonna do then?"

"I don't know…we could still try and find your old clothes in the attic…maybe that will help…"

Prue was surprised "They're still here?"

"Sure, Stevie put them all in boxes when we emptied your room so Charlotte can decide what she wants to do with it once she's old enough…guess you can do that yourself now."

Inside the study Prue had the same familiar safe feeling she had had in the hallway but still no memories. 'Get a grip…you knew it wasn't likely…' she told herself but felt her hopes sink her memory would ever return.

They went through all kinds of boxes and drawers but couldn't find anything that might possibly have Claire's DNA and only hers on it.

Alex sighed and looked and looked at Claire "Guess we'll have to try the attic then…you wanna come upstairs with me or stay down here?" he didn't want to leave her alone but wasn't sure if she wanted to go and look for her old clothes.

"Nah, I'll come with you…it would be weird if somebody walked in and saw me here walking around alone, wouldn't it?" she looked at him for reassurance.

"Yeah, I guess…" Alex smiled at Claire "The attic it is then…"

They climbed the stairs to the first floor and Alex led Claire to the ladder that would get them up to the attic. He wondered if she'd have any more of those flashes she had had earlier in front of Jack's study when she saw her clothes.

They climbed the ladder and started searching for the boxes with Claire's things that Stevie had put up here. Alex could still remember the day like it was yesterday. Tess and Nick were on their honeymoon in Fiji and they had decided to make the master bedroom their bedroom as a surprise. Alex had promised Stevie to empty the room but when he had walked in all the memories of him and Claire had come back and he had realized he couldn't so it. Stevie had done it in the end and Alex had been glad about that. Claire's old furniture was now in Jodi's room but all of her personal belongings were up here waiting for Charlotte. Or Claire now for that matter.

"I've found something!" he heard Claire's voice and was taken out of his thoughts. She was holding up a box that had clothes written on the side. She placed it down in front of him and when she opened the box a very familiar smell entered Alex's nose. He found it amazing that even after such a long time Claire's clothes still smelled like her. It wasn't a strong smell but enough for Alex to bring thousands of memories back. He looked at Claire but she didn't seem to remember anything.

They went through the box and Alex found a shirt with some blood stains on it and then had a huge smile on his face.

"This is perfect…it's got your blood on it!" he shouted out and showed Claire the shirt.

"How can you be so sure it's my blood?" she looked at him confused.

"Because a couple of days before you…you know…you were repairing a fence and didn't pay attention and cut your hand! You took of your shirt to wrap it around your hand till you could make it home! That was that shirt! I can see it before me! Wonder why you didn't throw it away?"

Claire shrugged her shoulders "Shirt doesn't look too bad…maybe I thought it was worth keeping…"

Alex smiled. Those thought would have been Claire's thoughts for sure. He was once again amazed at how little she had changed even though she couldn't remember. Even her clothing style hadn't changed much. So far he had seen her in different sets of jeans with different shirts. No dress or skirt.

"Come on P, this is perfect…we'll get your DNA tested in no time!"

They packed the shirt in a bag and after Claire had taken a look around the upstairs went back out to the car. While Alex looked around for the workers to check if everything was all right Claire stayed in the car and in the car and waited for him.

Back on Killarney they put the shirt along with the saliva sample they'd taken of Claire in an envelope so they could send it off on Monday. The laboratory they had talked to had promised to treat the samples with priority so if they were lucky they'd know by early next week…


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update...I had a bit of a crazy time here with my exams and all...but I'm back now with another chapter and hope you're all still with me and still enjoy the read!

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**28**

At Westminster College Charlotte and Emily had almost finished their week of confinement to their room.

While it was meant to be a punishment for the girls they didn't really see it as that because it gave them even more time to talk about what they wanted to do with Claire and Alex. Having to go back to their room straight after school or the meals, their homework was always done in no time because there was nothing else distracting them and then the sisters would sit on one of their beds playing out several scenarios of what they could do.

The girls had kept the news that they were sisters a secret from everybody because they wanted to enjoy the new feeling a little longer before everybody started asking questions. And with the confinement to their room they even escaped the nosy inquiries of Peg and Babs.

Sunday afternoon Emily was on her bed reading a book while Charlotte worked on a painting she wanted to give her mother the following weekend.

"This just doesn't look right…" she exclaimed and got Emily's attention with that.

"What's up Char?"

"The picture…I can't get it to look the way I want it to."

"I'm sure Mum will love it no matter what…I'm a REALLY bad painter and she has my drawings all over our place, believe me. She will love it no matter what you do…"

"I don't know…it just doesn't look right" Charlotte said and Emily got up from her bed and walked over to her sister's desk.

"Don't know what you want but it looks fine to me…exactly like the photo."

"Really? I don't know…the eyes are not right."

"Whose, Mum's or Rattle's?" Emily looked at the picture Charlotte had leaned against a glass and then back at the painting. Both showed Claire on the back of her horse Rattle with a beautiful scenery behind her.

"Mum's of course…" Charlotte said annoyed. She wasn't in joking mood today. She wanted to make her mother proud and wanted her painting to be perfect. Emily had promised to help her make a simple frame for it the following week so she could give it to Claire when her and Alex would pick the girls up on Friday.

"Well, I'd really leave it that way Charlotte, it looks good!" Emily stated and went back to the book on her bed.

Charlotte looked at her picture and sighed. Maybe she was too critical and Em was right…apart from her Mum's eyes the picture did look good. She turned her chair around and looked at her sister. "So…have you thought of anything you make for Alex?"

Emily once again looked up from her book. "I don't know. I can't think of anything I can make…I'm not good at drawing or anything artistic. I'm only good with animals…"

"You said you were good with wood when I asked you to help me with the frame…anything you can do there?"

"Well…I made this sign for Mum last year. You know, her name carved in wood…she really liked it but I don't know about Alex…Dad…it's still really weird I suddenly have a Dad now…" Emily shook her head. "You know him better. Do you think he would like something like that?"

Charlotte thought for a second then said "I think he would Em…he'd love anything you make for him…he could put it on his bedroom door…you could make signs for all of us, you know. You and me and Alex and Mum. I guess she needs a new sign now…"

"Yeah, think so, too. But I don't have a room on Killarney…where should I put my sign up? I already have one at my door at home that I made with Aunty Laura. I don't really wanna take that down…"

"I'm sure Alex will give you a room on Killarney, too! You're his daughter! He gave me one and I'm not even really related to him…"

"Ok, a sign it is then…I'll have to look where I can get the wood from though…"

"That's not a problem, Em. We have to go into town tomorrow anyway to get the wood for my frame…we can get some wood for your sign as well!"

The next day the girls were finally allowed to leave their room again but much to the dismay of Peggie and Babs took the bus into town right after school. When they came back Emily and Charlotte went right into the work room so they could make the frame for Charlotte's picture and Emily could start on the sign.

Close to tea that day Ms Wellesley found the girls working concentrated on their projects chatting about what they would do when they went to Killarney that weekend.

"Emily?" she asked "Would you come to the nurse's ward with me for a minute please?"

The girl looked at her sister and both shrugged their shoulders. None of them knew what this was about.

"Sure Ms Wellesley." Emily said and followed the teacher leaving Charlotte alone with the unfinished work.

When they arrived the ward Emily was greeted by the nurse who she hadn't met yet in her short time being at Westminster.

"Hi Emily, my name is Ms Jordan and I'm the nurse here at Westminster. You're probably wondering why I brought you here." Emily nodded "Well, we got a phone call from your mother today asking us to help her do a paternity test for you. That means we need to get your DNA. You know what that is, right?" Again Emily nodded and then asked "And this will prove that my Dad is my Dad?"

"Yes it will."

"Does it hurt?" Emily asked carefully. Because if it did then she'd rather have her sister with her.

But Ms Jordan laughed. "No, it won't hurt. I just need to run this thing that looks like a q-tip through your mouth so I can get some saliva, that's it."

Emily sighed in relief and opened her mouth.

Later that day when the girls were already in bed Charlotte asked her sister if she thought their mother would ever be able to remember anything.

"I don't know. Why are you asking?"

"Because…you know…right now she still has the name Prudence Newbury…but if she would remember she could be Claire McLeod again and you would be a McLeod, too. We all would be…ok, except for Alex, he's a Ryan but I guess that's not too bad since Uncle Nick is one, too."

"Hmm, maybe she can be a McLeod again without remembering…we'll have to ask her… though it will be kind of strange to suddenly have a different name. I mean…I was Emily Newbury all my life and now I'm Emily McLeod…that sounds strange…"

"No it doesn't…and everybody would know we're sisters right away…"

"Well, I guess I could get used to it. Emily McLeod…Emily Rose McLeod…we'll have to ask Mum…"

The rest of the week passed quickly for the girls as they finished their presents for their new found parents and tried to avoid their roommates after they were finished.

Finally it was Friday afternoon and their bags were on Emily's bed, packed and ready to go. The presents were neatly wrapped next to them and the girls sat on Charlotte's bed waiting for Claire and Alex. Both Charlotte and Emily had gotten tests back that week with good marks, both of them now placed on their desk to show that they had been good in the last two weeks and could maybe ride again.

When the two adults finally entered the girls' suite Charlotte and Emily jumped up and hugged them happily.

"Finally you're here…" Charlotte spoke for both sisters "We're packed and ready to go…"

"Don't forget about our tests!" Emily reminded her and pulled Alex into their room while Charlotte did the same with Claire.

"We both got good marks, Dad! See?" Emily told Alex and pointed to hers and Charlotte's test. "And we have surprises for you but you're not gonna get them till we're on Killarney. Can we go now?"

Claire looked at Alex and said "Guess we won't be able to talk them into showing us the school Alex…"

"No way!" Charlotte shouted and handed the two bags to Alex "We can do that some other weekend…not this time. Come on, let's go!" she grabbed her present and Emily took hers and the girls left the room so Claire and Alex didn't have any other chance than to follow them.

15 minutes later they were on their way to Killarney with the girls chatting in the backseat about how good they had been those last two weeks…

* * *

_ This is it again...hope you liked it even though it was a little shorter...the next part will be a bit longer again..._


	29. Chapter 29

**29**

When they arrived on Killarney a couple hours later the girls jumped out of the car holding their presents and grabbing their bags. Alex smiled at the energy of the two. Half way to the door Charlotte stopped and turned around.

"Umm…where's Emily gonna sleep?"

Alex smiled. He and Claire had talked about that earlier that day. "Well…" he started as he walked closer to the girls "There are three options…one: Emily stays in her Mum's room. Two: Emily stays in your room. Three: Emily will get her own room if she wants to…" Alex looked at his daughter. Her eyes had started shining as she heard that she could have her own room on Killarney. Then her eyes got a sceptical look and Alex wondered why, till she said "Does that mean it'll be my room for now…or more permanent…"

Now Alex had to smile "Well…since we've done some DNA testing to prove you're my daughter…I would say it is a more permanent arrangement. What do you say?"

There was that huge smile again and Emily flew around his neck dropping her bag and present on the ground. "Thank you Dad…thank you, thank you, thank you…"

"Take it you like the idea…" Alex said and kissed Emily on the head as he placed her down. "Now, let's go inside so you can have a look at your room and Charlotte and you can unpack…" he picked up Emily's bag and the four of them stepped into the house.

Upstairs Alex opened the door to the room next to Charlotte's. Like Charlotte's room it was still empty except for the furniture but the bed was made up.

"That used to be your Uncle Nick's room…and since he's married now and living either in Argentina or on Drovers he doesn't need this room anymore." Alex said and looked at Emily "What do you say? You like it?"  
The girl nodded. "Yeah…a bit empty but nothing we can't change…" she said with a huge smile on her face and went to hug her father again "Thank you!" Then she turned to her mother and asked her "Does that mean I can come here now whenever I want?"

Claire laughed "As long as you don't forget to come home every now and then…"  
"I won't Mum…I promise! Thank you!"

Alex took a look at Charlotte who had been rather quiet in the last few minutes. "Hey sweety…" he said to her "I think you mother wants to tell you something…"

"Yes I do…" Claire said and looked at her oldest daughter "I can't give you your own room where I live because our cottage only has two rooms…but if you and Emily don't mind you can share her room there…That means if you want to come and visit me…"  
Alex looked at the girl and could see the smile on her face get bigger and bigger.

"Of course I wanna come…you're my mother and I've missed you for so long…" she said and went to hug Claire while Emily added "And of course I'll share my room with you! It'll be so much fun!"

Charlotte nodded and let go of Claire "Yes it will…Emily, what do you think…time for our presents now?"

Emily agreed and they handed their presents over to Claire and Alex.

"We thought since we both scared you so much two weeks ago when we ran away you both deserved a little present so Emily and I made something for you…" Charlotte said and watched Claire unwrap her picture.

"Wow…did you do that Charlotte?" Claire asked after she had taken a good look at the picture.  
The girl nodded and her mother added "You are really talented! How did you do that?"  
Charlotte explained about the photo she had gotten from Emily and how her sister had helped her with the frame.

Then it was time for Alex to unwrap his present. When he saw the beautiful wooden sign with his name on it Emily could see his eyes getting wet.

"You did that Emily?" he asked and his voice was a little shaky.

"Yeah…I'm not a very good painter…ask Mum, all my paintings are really awful…but I made a sign like that for her last year and thought you might like one, too."  
"Thank you Emily, it's wonderful! Come here and let me give you a hug…" and Emily only too willingly followed her father's order.

Shortly after that Claire said "Well…it's time for dinner now and I think Rhonda will have it ready any minute now…which doesn't mean you two aren't still on kitchen duty! Rhonda may have prepared dinner alone but you two will go now and set the table and wash up later on!"

The girls rolled their eyes slightly but did what their mother had told them to do and a few minutes later the table was set and they all sat down to have dinner together.

Since neither of the girls were allowed to ride at the moment they all had agreed to drive into Fisher on Saturday so the girls could get things to decorate their rooms.

To show Claire and Alex how good they were Charlotte and Emily got up early and fixed breakfast before Rhonda could do it. Emily was used to cooking since her mother had always encouraged her to help and that paid off now. She told Charlotte what to do and when Rhonda came in the kitchen at her usual time both girls were already in full cooking mode.

"Morning girls…what are you up to?" she asked and startled the girls.

"Rhonda!" Charlotte shouted out "You scared me to death! We're making breakfast for Mum and Alex…they're gonna get it in bed!" she proudly said. The trays were already placed on the kitchen table only waiting for the food.

Rhonda looked around the kitchen smiling but shaking her head "Well, thanks for giving me the morning off…because I really hope you intend to clean this mess yourself!" she said and left the kitchen again to go back to her room.

The breakfast in bed was a nice surprise for Claire and Alex, so Emily had breakfast alone with her Dad and Charlotte with her Mum for the first time in their lives.

The trip to Fisher was a huge success and neither Claire nor Alex understood how two girls that had grown up apart and had only known each other for a few weeks could know so well what the other liked. More than once they had heard one of the girls shout for the other from opposite ends of the shops to come and have a look at something.

Now the car was filled with new wallpapers for each of the girls' rooms, along with new curtains, carpets and pictures. Just about everything you needed to make a room look comfortable.

Alex had promised to get both rooms done till the girls visited him the next time though it hadn't been discussed yet when that would be. Right now they were all living for the moment so all that mattered was the evening and the next day.

After dinner the girls went into the kitchen to help Rhonda wash up and clean the kitchen. Prue looked at both of her daughters as she carried the last plate to the sink so the girls could clean it. When they were done they could join her and Alex in the living room for a games night.

"Be good to Rhonda and hurry up!" she told them "I'll take a quick shower and when I'm done we're ready to beat Alex's behind…" When they had talked about the games night Charlotte had told them how she had beaten Alex at Poker the last time she was here and of course Alex had told them he had let Charlotte win. So all three females had taken one look at each other and had told Alex that he would lose that night for sure and could already think about what he was going to do for them.

Prue went up to the bathroom and took a quick shower while Alex had a quick look in the books. When she came down again 20 minuted later in fresh clothes with still wet hair she found the kitchen dark and heard voices from the living room.

As she walked inside she saw Alex sitting on the couch each of his arms wrapped around one of the girls. Both had their heads rested on his chest and were listening to a story Alex was telling them.

The sight of this tall, strong man with her two daughters made Prue's heart lighter and overflow with joy. It seemed so easy for him to get a connection to them and even though Emily had only known him for a few days Prue could see she trusted him completely. They looked like a little family where only the mother was missing…if only she could remember…

With a sigh she walked into the living room and said "Ok, Alex…ready to have your arse whipped?"

After the girls had gone to bed, Prue joined Alex for a beer out in the back garden of Killarney like she had done every evening for the last week. It had become like a ritual for them to talk about what had happened that day and what was planned for the next.

"Over the fact that you got beaten by a woman and two girls?" she asked him as she sat down next to him.

"That was pure hazard P and you know it…" Alex hummed.

Prue smiled. Alex sure didn't like to lose but it had been fun for her and the girls to work together and watch him.

"Next time all three of you are gonna eat dust! I swear! Now…what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Well, since the girls have been really good these past weeks I thought we could maybe allow them a little ride and have a picnic somewhere…" Prue said with a side look on Alex and his reaction.

Alex smiled "Can't keep away from horses more than two days, can ya?"

"Not if I don't have to…"

"Ok, that's a deal then…but I'll have to talk to Peter first and ask him. I don't wanna take Charlotte for another ride without his approval…"

"Ok, you can do that while the girls and I pack our things together…"

"Are the two weeks over already? It seems like yesterday you showed up on my doorstep…"

"And you nearly fainted…" Prue finished the sentence for him which got her a dirty look "Yeah, the two weeks are over and I need to get back to work…thank you Alex. For everything you've done. You're a real friend…" Prue said and touched Alex's hand

Hadn't it been a bit dark in the garden Prue could have sworn Alex had tears in his eyes but his voice sounded normal when he said "Any time P…any time…"


	30. Chapter 30

**30**

The next morning at breakfast Alex announced that he and Claire had made the decision the girls were allowed to go on a ride with them that day before they drove back to the school but that he needed to get Peter's permission first.

Charlotte's hopes that had been high at Alex's first words sank as he told her about her Dad.

"Do you really have to call him Alex? He'll say no…I know it! And then you all can go for a ride and I have to stay here…"

"Yes Charlotte, I have to call him. You know as well as I do that I shouldn't have taken you on a ride last time without asking him. It's still early evening at the US east coast so I guess now is a good time to call. While I do that you go up and pack your things together. And Charlotte…if you wanna talk to your Dad hurry up…"

The girls both rushed out of the kitchen while Claire hesitated and touched Alex's arm "Are you all right?"

Alex smiled at her. "Yeah…it's just Peter Johnson is not exactly my favourite person in this world and what I have to ask him is not easy…I'll be fine. Go and pack your things, I'll let you know what he said."

Alex walked into the living room while Claire headed for the stairs. He picked up the receiver and sighed as he dialled the number of Peter's hotel room. But nobody picked up. Then Alex tried the mobile number Peter had given him for emergencies. This wasn't a real emergency but it was important for Charlotte. After the fifth ring Peter finally picked up and he sounded like he had been running.

"Johnson?"

"Hi Peter, it's Alex…and before you say anything…Charlotte is alright and she hasn't run away again…"

"Then why are you calling? This is not a very good time for me to talk…I'm in a…business meeting…"

"Sorry…but this is about Charlotte. Peter, that girl so desperately wants to ride, she keeps asking about it every single day…"

"Alex you know why I don't want her to ride…it's too dangerous!"

"You once were one of the best riders out there, Peter. Horses were your life. Have you forgotten all about that?" Alex didn't like to admit that Peter was a good rider but it was true. He had quit his job as a horse trainer after Julia's accident and as far as Alex knew had never been near a horse again since then.

"No, I haven't but I couldn't stand to lose Charlotte if something happened to her…it's too dangerous."

"Peter, you were riding long enough before you quit, how likely are accidents like the ones Julia had? And how likely is it that the outcome will be like that? Charlotte will be wearing a helmet and I'm a much better rider than Julia was, everything would be under control. Come on Peter, do it for Charlotte if you can't be here…I'll promise you she will never be out alone…"

There was silence on the other end of the line then Alex heard Peter covering the phone and talk to somebody. When he came back Alex forearmed himself for the next excuses Peter would come up with but was very surprised to hear him say "All right Alex…but only if she's going with you and is wearing a helmet. If anything happens to her I swear I will kill you!"

"I won't Peter…I promise. On another note, when are you coming back? Charlotte doesn't say it but I'm sure she misses you…"

"I don't know Alex, really. Listen, I have to go now. Tell Charlotte I love her and to be careful. Bye!"

Before Alex could respond Peter had hung up. 'Such a knob!' Alex thought to himself 'Doesn't even wanna talk to his own daughter!'

Half an hour later Claire, Alex and the girls were on their way to the stables to saddle up the horses. Rhonda had packed them a picnic so they could stay out for most of the day till they had to drive back to the school.

Charlotte got the same horse she had had the last time and Emily got a beautiful, red mare. Not as beautiful as her horse Shadow at home she thought but still great. She hadn't liked that Alex had handed her and Charlotte a helmet. Those were not really comfortable and you were always sweating like crazy under them. When she raised her protest that she only wore helmets for competitions Alex had shut her down with a severe look and she had reluctantly put it on. Why was Charlotte's Dad so stupid…

Their day out on the horses was perfect for everybody. Alex was amazed when he saw how good a rider Emily was. She clearly had her mother's feeling for horses. When Emily had asked if they could do a race Alex had told her that he didn't want Charlotte to do that yet because she hadn't been riding for such a long time. When Claire had seen the long face of her daughter she had suggested that Emily and Alex could have a race while she had a chat with Charlotte. So Alex had seen first hand what Emily was able to do with a horse and he had had a hard time keeping up with the girl.

Now they were all back on Killarney and getting ready to leave for taking the girls back to school. Since the farm Claire lived and worked on was another two hours further away than the school they would drive with two cars. The girls had fast agreed that Charlotte would ride with Claire and Emily with Alex so the cars were packed and ready to go.

Just as he wanted to head out the door the telephone rang and Alex hesitated for a second if he should pick up. He swore to himself and told Claire to drive ahead, he'd follow as soon as he was finished with the phone.

"Killarney" he said in a rushed, annoyed way.

"Whoa Alex…what happened to you...Where's that funny, always joking brother-in-law of mine?"

"Jodi…get to the point! I have to take Charlotte back to her school and it's already late!" It was only half the truth but also no real lie.

"I just wanted to ask you if it would be all right if I stayed in Argentina a little longer…only a couple more weeks. I've talked to Paul and it looks like everything on Drovers is fine, so would you play the overseer of the overseer for another two weeks? Please? I promise I'll have a big surprise for you when I get back…"

"No problem Jodi…Drovers looks just fine. But listen, I really gotta go now…"

"So I can't talk to Charlotte for a second?"

Alex's heart started racing. "Sorry she's already outside. I'll tell her to call you from the school, all right? Bye Jodi, say hi to Tess and that brother of mine…"

Before Jodi could say more Alex had hung up and was racing outside to Emily who was already waiting in the car.

It took Alex quite a while to catch up with Claire but then they drove the rest of the way together and arrived at Westminster at the same time. While Claire went to the headmaster's office to tell him that Emily was now allowed to be on the riding team again Alex helped the girls get their things back into their room. Babette and Peggie were already waiting for their return and watched the scene between Alex, Charlotte and Emily with curiosity. Claire followed them only a few minutes later and reported that everything with the headmaster was sorted and Emily was officially riding for the school again.

This time the goodbyes took longer than two weeks before because Charlotte didn't know when she'd see her mother again and the same was true for Alex and Emily. But they promised to call each other and find a solution.

After the two adults were finally gone Charlotte and Emily were jumped on by their roommates.

"Now you two…no escaping this time! We share a suite and we have barely seen you in the last two weeks! What happened? Why did you run away? Come on, tell us!" Peggie said and dragged both Charlotte and Emily to the couch in the lounge room. The sisters looked at each other and knew there was no escaping anymore. At least not from their roommates.

So Charlotte sighed and started telling the story of how they had compared the photos and all that had happened after that with Emily's help. When they were finished Charlotte added "But you mustn't tell anyone! Got that? It's all still a secret and nobody but Mum, Alex, Em and I are supposed to know!"

Peg and Babs were speechless for a second then Babs asked "And you are really sisters?" but Peg interrupted her friend and said "Of course they are! Just look at them Babs…I really should have seen it earlier! I was so stupid!"

The four girls decided to leave all jealousies behind and be friends again and revive the fab four.

Outside the school it was time for Claire and Alex to say goodbye. Alex didn't really know what to say. He would miss her. But not for the reasons he would have thought two weeks ago. Two weeks ago he would have missed her for old times sake but now they had formed a new friendship that was different and similar to what they had had at the same time. Their past was missing but it didn't really matter. The trust in each other was almost as high as before the accident and Alex knew he'd miss having her around to talk to him. Now it was only Rhonda and him again, all alone in the big house.

They walked to their cars together and Alex said "Well P…it was good to have you around those last two weeks and I hope you don't mind if I give you a hug now…I'll miss ya!"  
With that he stepped forward and put his arms around her. He felt Claire hug him back and heard her say "I'll miss you two, Alex…thanks for the good time."

Then they promised each other to call when they were home and drove off in different directions both thinking the same…how is this gonna end?


	31. Chapter 31

**31**

When Prue was finally back on Shaw's Acres she remained in the car for another few minutes before she felt strong enough to go inside. She knew Laura would jump on her to know every detail of what had happened in the last two weeks but Prue didn't really know herself. Yes, she had and identity now and a second daughter. But where did she stand with Alex? He had become a very good friend in such a short amount of time and she now knew that they had once been more than friends but she still couldn't remember that. But when she thought about Alex now she felt the need to smile and had hugged her before she drove off at Westminster a warm feeling had taken hold of her body and she could still feel where his arms had held her. What was that?

With a sigh Prue got out of the car and got her bag from the backseat. She had to face her friends at one point.

Once inside the main house she shouted for them and got an answer from the living room. Before she could even walk in that direction Laura came running towards her and gave her a huge hug.

"Welcome home Prue…We've missed you! Or should I say Claire? How are ya?"

Prue smiled "Prue will do for now…and I've missed you too…and what was the third? Ah yes…I'm fine, thanks." She said and Laura put an arm around her and led her to the couch in the living room.

"Sit down…I won't let you go tonight till you've told me everything! You want something to drink?"

"Slow down Laura and let her breathe!" Bernard said shaking his head "She's just arrived and is probably exhausted from driving." Then he turned to Prue "Welcome home Prue!"

"Thanks Bernard! And yes Laura, something to drink would be nice but I can really get it myself…"

"You…stay put! This is the last day of your holiday so I'm getting it for you! What do you want?"  
Prue demanded a water and Laura left for the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Prue, she's been like that all day…just tell her if it's too much. But she's just really excited and happy for you…"

"It's ok, I know how she feels…I would be excited too if all of this wasn't so confusing…"

Bernard took Prue's hand and squeezed it, then Laura came back with a glass of water and some sandwiches she had made earlier.

"Here you are dear…now tell me…what does this Alex Ryan look like?"

Prue laughed "Is that all you wanna know? Well, that's easy…I have a couple pictures here…" Prue reached for her bag and pulled the envelope with the pictures out Alex had given her. She looked for one of Alex and her that was neutral and handed it to Laura. Prue had also asked Alex for the pictures of him and her in Melbourne because they were the only ones with them and Charlotte together. They had taken a couple pictures over the last weekend but they still needed to be developed. Alex would send her copies.

"Oh…now that's what I call a handsome man…" Laura said and handed the picture to Bernard. "So any pictures of you and your other daughter?"

"Only baby pictures. We took some this weekend but I don't have them yet…"

"Ok, show me the baby pictures and then you have to tell me everything!"

So they spent the next hour talking about what had happened and what Prue knew about her former life. They had talked on the phone every other day while Prue was on Killarney but she had only told her friend the very necessary things. Now there was no escape because Laura surely wouldn't let her go till she knew everything.

When Prue was finished with her story she said "That's it…and now would you please excuse me…I can hardly keep my eyes open. If you have any more questions…I will answer them tomorrow."

Laura nodded and her and Bernard said good night to Prue who was glad to finally get some peace. She also still needed to call Alex who should have made it back to Killarney by now, too.

When Alex arrived on Killarney Rhonda had already gone to bed but there was a note on the kitchen table that there was a plate for Alex in the fridge. Alex smiled, Rhonda knew how to make him happy…but first he needed to call Claire. Her way home had been a little shorter than his so she should already be there.  
He picked up the paper with her number that she had left by the phone and dialled. After the 4th ring she picked up and he could hear she was out of breath.

"Hello?"

"No need to run to the phone…it's only me…"

"Alex!" he heard her laugh "Sorry…I just got back from the main house and heard the phone ring so I hurried…"

"Well, glad to know you can't wait to talk to me…"

"Get away Alex…I didn't even know it was you. It could have been anyone. But I take it you're back on Killarney safe and sound…" she changed the subject fast.

Alex had to smile "Yep, and I take it your home is still standing, too?"

"Yeah…" he heard Claire's amused tone "They survived without me…though I bet Bernard's glad I'm back. He just mentioned something about being sick of Laura's cooking…"

They talked for another few minutes and then hang up with Claire promising him to call as soon as she got the results of the DNA tests.

Over the next few days life for Prue meant settling back to normal. But something inside her had changed. She did the same work she had done for years before she had found out who she really was and it was still all that she could remember but with Bernard being out all day on the land and Laura doing the charity work she had always done Prue felt lonely on Shaw's Acres for the first time since she had come here. She didn't know why because everything was the way it had always been.

So she had called Alex every day when she had thought he could be in his study or have time to talk. At first she had hesitated because she didn't want him to think she was missing him…which she didn't, she just felt a little alone…but then she had taken all her courage together and had called him anyway. Now it almost seemed like she couldn't wait for his reports what he had done that day or if he had heard from the girls and he asked her about her day and the DNA results.

Thursday was finally a day where Prue had enough to do so she wouldn't feel alone. Two of the workers had caught a bad flu and Bernard needed to bring some cattle in so he could sell them at the auction the next day. So Prue needed to get out with him and the other two hands to muster them and bring them to a paddock near the homestead. It took them a while because it had been raining and the ground was soft and the cattle had a hard time walking. When they were finally in the paddock where the truck could pick them up the next day it was already way past lunch time. Prue was exhausted and dirty and all she wanted was a shower and a bed.

She took care of her horse and asked Bernard if it would be all right if she headed right back to the cottage without preparing something to eat for him. Bernard must have seen how tired Prue looked because he told her to take the rest of the day off.

So she headed back to her cottage, took off her dirty clothes and headed straight for a long, hot, relaxing shower. When she was done and left her bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her she almost bumped into Laura who had just walked in the cottage.

"Blimey…you scared me to death…what are you doing here?" Prue asked her friend after she had gotten her breath back.

"Sorry Prue…but…George left this for you when he brought the mail earlier and I thought you wanted to have it as soon as you got back…" She handed Prue a piece of paper.

"What's that?"

"A notice that there are two envelopes waiting for you at the post office…you need to sign for them personally so I couldn't take them for you…"

Prue's eyes got wide. The DNA results! The laboratory had told her that she would have to sign for them so they knew she got them.

"Thanks Laura…Bernard has given me the rest of the day off…would it be ok if I drove into town to get them?"

"Sure it would be ok…I'm dieing to know! Now get dressed and off you go! The sooner you know the sooner I know, too…"

So Prue got dressed and drove into town. A good hour later she had two envelopes in her hands but didn't dare to open them. She needed Alex on the phone when she did…after all one of this envelopes was about him, too…

Back at the farm Prue didn't even stop by at the main house but went right back to her cottage. A look on her watch told her that Alex would probably be home. So she dialled his number and waited.

When Rhonda picked up she asked her if Alex was there and only a few seconds later she had him on the other end.

"P? You're calling early…is everything all right?"

"Umm…Alex, I got the DNA results today…"

"Oh! So…what do they say?"

"I haven't looked yet…I'm a little scared…"

"Come on, you can do it…I know you can! I would hold your hand if I was with you but I guess you'll have to do this alone...as long as you don't wanna call Laura!"

"No, not yet. This is about me and you and Emily…but what if they say I'm not Claire McLeod…and what if Emily's not your daughter?"

"That won't happen…now open those letters P! I'm dying here!"

"Ok, ok…here we go…" Prue said and opened the first letter. It was the paternity test of Alex and Emily. She quickly read through the lines with a pounding heart and finally found the important paragraph...there was no doubt that Alex was Emily's father. Quickly she opened the other envelope without saying anything and there it stood…100 DNA match, she was Claire McLeod and had it in cold print. Prue had to sit down because her knees got weak and her head was spinning. It was like all that she had heard about her life now finally became reality. Not that she could remember any of it but finally she had the proof that the life Alex had been talking about was really hers…

"P? You still there?" she heard Alex shout over the phone. She had placed the receiver on the table so she could open the letters but now that she him shout she picked it back up.

"Alex? It's true…everything we worked out is correct…you are Emily's father and I'm Claire McLeod…I'm Claire…I…this is…I don't know what to say…" The words 'I am Claire' suddenly had a whole different meaning to Prue. It was reality and even her brain seemed to realize that now. She felt tears running down her face...

Alex on the other line was as quiet as Prue till he said "I really have a daughter…" more to himself than to her.

But it got Prue out of her thoughts again and she asked him "What do we do now?"

Alex cleared his throat and said "Either you send me the DNA results and I take care of everything or I send you the death certificate and you do it…whatever you prefer."

Prue thought for a second but didn't really feel like she wanted to the running after the papers. "Would it be ok if you did all that? I still feel a little overwhelmed by the results…"

"Sure it would be all right…I wouldn't have offered it if not…what do I do with Emily's birth certificate? I guess we need to change that now, too…"

"Yeah, I guess…but I'd like to talk to her first. Tell you what…I'll send you everything and talk to her tonight…then I can tell you what she said…"

"Ok, and if there's anything you need to sign I'll let you know. But I doubt it…so, talk to you later?"

They hung up and before Prue called the school to talk to her daughter she thought once again…'I am Claire'…


	32. Chapter 32

_A/N: Like probably everybody else as well I'm not getting any emails from the site...so no emails about reviews either and no way for me to replay...so...e1981...thanks for your comment...it's really much appreciated!_

_Okay...here is the next part and I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

**32**

Prue was still lost in her thoughts with the receiver in her hands when Laura found her. She had seen Prue's car parked at the cottage when she had gone to the back garden to have some fresh air and had wondered why her friend hadn't come inside to tell her the outcome of the DNA tests.

Prue started when she felt the touch of Laura's hand on her arm and looked up. Her head was still spinning from the thought that she was Claire.

"Hey, I saw your car and was a little worried because you didn't come in and tell me what the letter said. Is everything all right?"  
Slowly Prue managed to clear her head and dried her tear stained face. She hadn't even realized she had been crying since she had stopped talking to Alex.

"I'm fine Laura…" she laughed a little "I may not look like it but I'm really fine…"

"Good…" Laura said and sat down next to Prue "So…what did the DNA test say?"

Prue handed her friend the letter and said at the same time "I'm Claire…I'm really Claire…"

Laura had a quick read through the letter and then hugged Prue. "How do you feel about it? I mean there wasn't really a doubt, was there?"

Prue shook her head, then said "But it's different to have it there in black and white…now it's really real." She sighed "Sorry I didn't come inside…I didn't open the letters till I was back and I had to talk to Alex first…this is about him, too. He is Emily's father. I finally have a life that's all mine…even if I can't remember it it's still mine…" Prue's tears came back and she leaned forward as Laura caressed her back.

"Hey…it's ok, I'm here." She said and out her arm around her friend. "And what happens now? Hmm? Come on Prue...what's the next step?"

Prue leaned back and looked at Laura "I have to talk to Emily before it's too late to call her. I need to know what name she wants on her birth certificate and then I'll send everything to Alex. He'll take care of it because I don't think I can do it at the moment…"

"And what about your name?"

"You know…these last minutes I felt like Claire for the first time. Those past three weeks since I found out the truth I've still felt like Prue but now that I have the proof in my hands and know that what Alex told me is really my life…I think I can take my old name again…"

Prue smiled "So…nice to meet you, my name is Claire McLeod…" she said and offered Laura her hand who took it "Nice to meet you Claire…I'm Laura Shaw…can I give you a hug now?"

Claire smiled "Yeah…that would be good…" and the friends put their arms round each other and held tight…

In Westminster both Charlotte and Emily were just packing their things for school the next day when Ms Wellesley knocked at their door.

"Emily?"

"Yes Ms Wellesley?"

"Would you come with me please? Your mother is one the phone and needs to speak to you."

Emily and Charlotte exchanged a confused look. They had both talked to their mother the day before and had agreed they would call again on Saturday.

So Emily followed Ms Wellesley down to the teacher's office where the receiver was still placed next to the phone.

Emily picked it up "Mum?"

"Hi Em…I hope I didn't scare you but…I got the results of the DNA tests today…"

Now Emily got excited. She desperately wanted to know if that thing really showed that Alex was her father…and if her mother was Claire McLeod, Charlotte's mother.

"So…what did it say? Come on Mum, you know I'm dying to know here…" she said and heard her mother laugh on the other end of the line.

"You know, you sound just like your Dad…even though you didn't grow up with him…"

Emily held her breath "Does that mean it's true? Alex is really my Dad?" she asked and squeaked when her mother said "Sure is…"  
Ms Wellesley looked at Emily with a worried look on her face but the girl quickly told her everything's all right.

"And that means you're…Charlotte's Mum?"

"Yes it does…and that's why I'm calling…I've decided to go by my old name again now that it's proved that I'm really Claire McLeod…and that means we need to change your birth certificate. First of all Alex will be put on there as your father and then my real name as your mother. Now you can choose what you want as your last name…"

"Wow…that's a tough one…what choices do I have?"

"Well, you could keep the Newbury…"

"No, that's not what I want if you have a different name…"

"I know, I'm just telling you what you can choose…so, it's Newbury, or McLeod or Ryan…"

"Can't I have something with both McLeod and Ryan? I think that's what I'd rather want…it would show that both you and Alex are my parents…"

"Hmm, I guess that would be possible, too. Do you want McLeod-Ryan, or Ryan-McLeod?"

"I don't know…what do you think?"

"It's your decision, you need to live with the name Emily."

"I know, I know…but it's hard Mum…ok, I think I know what I want…since Charlotte is McLeod-Johnson I want McLeod-Ryan…was that all?"

"I think so, yes. Anything you want to know?"

"Not right now…but if I have any more I can always ask you, right?"

"Sure honey, you know where to find me. Now go and get Ms Wellesley on the phone for me and get back to your room and give Charlotte a hug and a kiss, all right? I'll talk to you Saturday…"

Claire sighed. That was done. Now she only needed to tell Ms Wellesley what was going on and get her to not talk to Charlotte's father. She hoped the teacher would agree to keep this all under wraps till she or Alex had the chance to tell Peter themselves. Because it sure would be a shock for him if he found out she was still alive…

"Mrs Newbury?" Claire heard the teachers voice.

"Ah, yes Ms Wellesley. I wanted to inform you about the latest happenings regarding Charlotte and Emily. But before I tell you I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone but Mr Vandermark. It could shock too many people if it just came out like that. The girls know but nobody else…"

"You have my word!" Ms Wellesley promised and Claire told her everything that had happened from her memory loss to the DNA testing. The teacher seemed very shocked and promised to keep an eye on both girls.

When Claire hung up she looked at Laura who had been with her the whole time but hadn't heard what Emily had said.

"So, what's our girl's name decision?"

"She wants McLeod-Ryan…Emily Rose McLeod-Ryan. Long name for a little girl…"

"She's not that little anymore and you know that."

Claire smiled. "Yeah, I do. What do you think?"

"Well, she seems to know what she wants so I'm happy with it. It'll take some time though till I see you as Claire though…"

"I know, it took a while for me, too. But thanks for trying!" Claire hugged her friend and turned back to the phone. "Ok, I should call Alex and let him know what Em has decided…he's gonna jump with joy when he hears she's chosen his name…" And Claire was right…

In Westminster Emily walked back into her room with the biggest smile on her face. Charlotte looked up from the picture she had been painting and looked at her sister.

"What did Mum want?"

"The DNA tests came back today…"

Charlotte's eyes grew wide as she heard that. "And? Is she my Mum?"

Emily nodded "She is…and Alex is my Dad! Isn't that great! I have a Mum and a Dad now!" She saw her sister's face drop a little and asked "What's up Char? Aren't you happy?"

"Well…I am, but why didn't she wanna talk to me?"

"Oh Charlotte…Mum only called because they have to change something about my birth certificate. I'm getting a new last name!"

"Really? What is it?" The curiosity won over Charlotte's wounded pride that her mother didn't wanna talk to her.

"Well…you're getting your wish…"

"My wish?"

"Yeah, Mum's decided to take her old name back and is now going by Claire McLeod again and that makes me…drum roll…Emily McLeod-Ryan!"

"You're taking Alex's name, too?"

"Yeah, Mum said I could. And if we ever get them back together they can get married and Mum can be a McLeod-Ryan, too. And I'll only have to change my name once. And you have your Dad's name, too so I thought it would be cool…"

"Wow, so we're both McLeods now…"

"Yep, real sisters…isn't that great? Everything's gonna be fine now…I know it!" Emily said and went to hug her sister.

But Charlotte wasn't too sure about that…she knew her Dad and knew how he could be. What if he didn't take the news well about her Mum still being alive?


	33. Chapter 33

_A/N: Thanks for your reviews! They're really much appreciated! I'm finally getting some of the review alert emails again, not all though so if you haven't gotten a reply from me yet...I'm sorry...I'm probably still waiting for the email :)_

_In the meantime...Enjoy the chapter!_

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**33**

Charlotte was sitting on the bench near the training circuit once again and watched her younger sister ride the course over and over again. The trainer shouted commands to Emily and she usually nodded and tried to follow his orders. It was Wednesday and almost a week had passed since her mother's phone call to tell Emily the results of the DNA tests. At first Charlotte had been a little jealous that Alex really was Emily's Dad but now she was just happy for her sister. Apart from Ms Wellesley, Mr Vandermark and Peg and Babs nobody knew they were sisters. Their classmates had wondered a little why suddenly Charlotte had started talking about her Mum, something that she had never done before but none of them had asked further questions.

The next visiting weekend was coming up quickly and for the first time this school year Charlotte didn't really wanna go and visit Alex. It had nothing to do with him but more with the fact that she longed to see her mother again. She had lived without her for so long that she didn't wanna miss any more minutes with her. But I would not be her that would see Claire that Friday, it would be Emily.

Charlotte looked out over the training area and saw that her sister had gotten off the horse and was now finished for the day. So Charlotte got up from the bench and went to help Emily brush down her horse. They had done that together for a week now. If Charlotte wasn't allowed to ride at school she could at least be close to the horses.

"Hey Em…you looked good there today! A lot better than yesterday…"

Emily had a huge grin on her face "Thanks Char…you know what Mr Peterson said?"

Charlotte laughed "No, but I bet you'll tell me soon…"

"Of course!" Emily said with a wink "He said if I kept going like that I could ride the cross country in the competition before the winter holidays. Isn't that just fantastic? The cross country! Nobody my age was ever allowed to do that…at least that's what Jen said and she's been on the riding team for ages!"

"Wow! Congrats! I'm so proud of you…let's hope I can tell everybody till then that you are my sister…"

"Yeah, that would be great…"  
They were finished with the horse and it was time for them to go back to their room so Emily could have a shower before tea.

As they walked back Charlotte asked her sister "So, what do you have planned for the weekend with Mum? Anything special?"

"Not really. I'll probably help Uncle Bernard on the farm or something. It's not really a special weekend. I wish I could come to visit Alex with you…I mean Dad. It would be so cool and I really wanna see what he did with my room and your room!"

"Yeah, me too. I'll tell you when I'm there. Though I have to admit I'd rather go with you and visit Mum. I haven't had her for so long and I don't know when I'll see her again with my Dad not knowing…"

"Isn't it funny? You wanna do what I do and I wanna do what you do…Charlotte?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think your Dad would allow it if you asked him if you could go with a friend over the weekend?"

"I don't know…why?"

"Well…if you ask him and he says yes you could come with me and visit Mum…he doesn't have to know that your friend it actually your sister and her Mum is your Mum, too."

"But what about Alex? I'm sure he'll feel lonely over the weekend when I go with you rather than spend time with him…"

"And what if I go to visit him instead?"

"But then we can't tell my Dad I'm visiting with a friend…"

"Well, since we're not completely telling the truth anyway we're just leaving the fact out that the friend won't come with you…"

"And what if he finds out? He'll be so mad!"

"He just won't find out! He's not here and I doubt Mum will call him…"

"And neither will Alex…hmm…it could work…"

"Well, let me take a shower then and after dinner we'll make some phone calls, ok?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

So after tea Charlotte and Emily got in one of the phone booths together to talk to their parents. They had decided to talk to Peter first. If he didn't give his permission in the first place they wouldn't even have to bother Claire and Alex.

Charlotte sighed before she picked up the phone. She loved her Dad but she hated talking to him on the phone.

"Johnson?"

"Hi Dad, it's Charlotte!"

"Oh, hi there…why are you calling? Is everything all right? You didn't run away again, did you?"

Charlotte chuckled "No Dad, I don't think I'll ever do that again. I know it was stupid. The reason why I'm calling is…" she took a deep breath "It's visiting weekend coming up and a friend of mine has invited me to stay with her and her Mum. Can I please go? She's my roommate and we would have so much fun. Please Dad!"

"I don't know Charlotte, what does the mother of your roommate say to all this?"

"She's fine with it really…" Charlotte hoped that her Mum really would agree.

"Does your friend have a name? Where does she live?"

"Her name is Emily Newbury and she lives about 2 hours away from the school. Please Dad!"

Charlotte heard Peter sigh "All right Charlotte, you can go. But you need to give me a phone number so I can call just in case!"  
"Thank you Dad, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's ok Charlotte. I guess I have to make up for not being at home right now…"

"So you'll be in the USA longer?" Charlotte had hoped her Dad would maybe come back soon. The Easter holidays were coming up and usually they had gone on a little trip somewhere together, her sisters her Dad and her.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. I don't know how much longer this will take but at least you've got Alex to go to now. I'm sorry…I don't think I'll make it for you easter holidays."

Charlotte sighed "Well, I guess I have to spend them with Alex then…thanks Dad for letting me go on the weekend with Emily…"  
They said goodbye and Charlotte hung up, both relieved and sad at the same time.

"So he said yes?" Emily asked excited.

Charlotte nodded.

"Why are you not jumping with joy then? I'm sure Mum will say yes…"

"That's not the problem…Dad doesn't know when he's coming back so we won't go on our usual easter trip…I was so looking forward to that. Natalie will be so mad at Dad. At least I got Alex to go to but she has to stay at her school all the time! Maybe she can visit Al in Sydney…"

"I'm sorry Char…hey, maybe you, me, Mum and Alex can spend the holidays together? We can ask them this weekend!"

Then they called Claire and Alex and both of them agreed with the girls switching their places for the weekend but gave them a lecture first of not lying to Peter. But in the end they accepted that the girls had to do it that way till Peter knew the truth about Claire and since Claire wanted to tell her family first that would have to wait.

It was settled that Claire and Alex would pick Charlotte and Emily up on Friday and they'd all meet again Sunday at an ice café in town before they had to go back to school.

While packing on Friday the sisters talked about what they wanted to do on the weekend. They wanted to spend most of the weekend getting to know their respective parent better and maybe find out if there was a chance they could get those two together somehow.

"We'll just have to try and find out if it could work in the first place." Charlotte said and stuffed a sweater in her bag. "You know what Mum likes and I know what Alex likes. That's perfect, we can both ask the right questions!"

"How do I know what the right question is?"

"Just ask Alex about things Mum likes. If they like the same things we can't go wrong. Oh, and ask him if he misses Mum!"

"Ok…but Char…"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to have fun, all right?"

Charlotte laughed. Oh, no. I'm sure I won't forget that! A whole weekend with Mum all to myself! It's gonna be great!"

"Don't forget Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura! I'm sure they're dying to meet you!"

"But I don't know them at all!"

"They don't care. They love Mum and you're her daughter…I know they're dying to meet you…just tell Aunty Laura to back off when she gets too clingy. She has the tendency sometimes. But they're both really cool. Mum always says that they're more friends than her bosses…"

"You know, it's kinda strange to know Mum is working for somebody else when she owns half a property herself!"

"Yeah…kinda. But you'll get used to it, Shaw's Acres is really beautiful. And who knows…if we can really get her and Alex together we'll all live on Killarney soon…"

"If my Dad allows it…" Charlotte mumbled and Emily felt sorry for her sister.

"I'm sure he will…she's your Mum, too. And he's not here most of the time. Why shouldn't he allow it? Come on, let's get our things packed. Mum and Alex will be here soon…"

Emily was right. Only ten minutes later the two adults walked into their room together. They had met up outside so they could discuss what they wanted to tell Peter in the unlikely case he would call over the weekend and Alex had told Claire that her sister Jodi was coming home on Sunday with some sort of surprise.

"Hey girls…ready to go?" Alex asked standing in the doorway.

"Mum, Dad!" Emily shouted and went to hug both her parents. After that Charlotte did the same.

"Yep, we're ready to go…hi Mum, hi Alex!"

The four of them walked outside to the cars together, Alex's arm around Charlotte while Claire walked arm in arm with Emily. Once they had reached the cars Claire kissed her younger daughter on the forehead which got her rolling eyes from Emily.

"I'll miss you this weekend!"

"And I'll miss you!" Alex told Charlotte. "Well, we should get going…Killarney's a long drive away."  
So Charlotte and Emily hugged and exchanged some silent messages with their looks while Claire and Alex were already on their way into the car.

Shortly after that the four of them were on their way to the farms where they would spend the weekend…


	34. Chapter 34

_A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update...I'm a little busy these days and not feeling all too well...but here's a new part and I hope I can give you the next one by the end of the week..._

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**34**

"So Emily…" Alex asked and took a quick look at his daughter then turned his attention back to the street "What do you wanna do this weekend?"

"I don't really know actually…Charlotte and I didn't really have time to plan anything…"

"What would you have done if you had gone to your Mum?"

"Helped Uncle Bernard with the farm work a little, train for the cross country…hey, did I tell you that I might get the chance to do the cross country before the winter holidays?"

Alex laughed "Yep, this is about the 4th time you're telling me…but I'm proud of you."

Emily had a huge smile on her face now "Thank you…so, can I do some training over the weekend?"

"Of course you can Em…and you can help me with the farm work as well if you want to. I think I can find some fences that need fixing" Alex said with a wink "You've done that before, haven't you?"

Emily sighed "Of course I have! I grew up on a farm! What do you think?"

His daughter's comment made Alex laugh "You sound just like your mother, you know that?"

Now Emily laughed, too. "Yeah, Aunty Laura tells me that all the time…so, did you get my room finished? And Charlotte's?"

"I promised it, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah. But on a farm you never know what might happen. Something could have come up…"

"Well, they are finished and I hope you'll like yours!"

"I'm sure I will…oh Dad, that reminds me…could we stop somewhere and buy some wood? I wanna make Charlotte the same sign I made for you and put it on the door of her room…if that's ok."

"Sure, we'll stop in Gungellan and get some. You wanna make one for your room, too?"

"Yeah, but that can wait till I come again. I wanna try and finish Charlotte's though so it's waiting for her when she visits you next time."

"She'll love that Em!" Alex said and took another look at his daughter. He really loved the sign she had made, it was on his bedroom door now. His first present from his daughter…Alex smiled.

The rest of the trip they talked about how school was going for Emily, her plans for the future, farm life in general and once again Alex was impressed by the concrete ideas his daughter had for her future. Claire had done a really good job bringing her up all alone.

When they arrived on Killarney it was already beginning to get dark and it was time for dinner. Their stop in Gungellan had taken longer than Alex had hoped because he had been stopped a couple times by people who knew him. All the while Alex had hoped they wouldn't ask to many questions about the young girl that was with him or just assume it was Charlotte. With nobody knowing that Claire was still alive explaining who Emily was would have just been too difficult. But everything had gone well and now they were on Killarney unloading the wood they had bought and his daughter's bag.

Claire and Charlotte had a similar conversation on the way to Shaw's Acres. Charlotte already knew quite a lot about Claire's life since the accident from Emily but there were still new things to discover and since Charlotte had been extremely quiet about her life Claire only knew the things about it that Alex had told her. Even now Claire could feel that her daughter wasn't telling her everything. But she didn't want to push her. The girl would talk if she felt the need to.

"I hope you're not disappointed with the way I live…it's by no means as fancy as Killarney…" Claire said to bring the subject to something else. "As I said you'll have to sleep in Emily's bed since the cottage only has two bedrooms."

Charlotte smiled "That's ok. I really don't mind as long as I can spend some time with you…Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Could we go for a ride tomorrow? Emily said it would be all right if I used her horse if you allow it…"

"I don't know Charlotte. Your father only allowed you to ride with Alex."

"But you're my mother!"

"I know and I'm very happy about that but I don't feel comfortable doing anything against your father's will. Though I have to say I don't really understand why you're not allowed to ride. From what Alex told me Peter used to work with horses when we were together…"

Claire realized that Charlotte had stiffened up in her seat and now had her head turned to the window with a distant look in her eyes.

"Charlotte? Everything all right?"

When the girl didn't answer and Claire realized that she had tears running down her face she pulled the car to the side and turned her daughter around so she would face her.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I said something that hurt you…I'll think about the riding till tomorrow, ok?"

Charlotte weakly smiled and nodded. Claire just wanted to start the car when she heard her say "It's because of Julia, my step-mum…"

Claire let go of the keys and asked "What is because of Julia?"

"I'm not allowed to ride because of her…It's my fault she's dead…"

And then the whole story of what had happened broke out of the girl. When she was finished both mother and daughter were crying holding each other tight.

"I'm sorry Charlotte…I'm sorry you had to go through all of this because I had this stupid accident and can't remember…God I wish I could…"

"It's ok Mum, it's not your fault, I was the one that caused Julia's accident so I guess I deserve Dad's punishment."

"No you do not! Your step-mum shouldn't have gone riding with you in the first place and it was a stupid accident. They happen. Just like my accident happened. Only I survived and now have a second chance to get to know you…come on. Let's get home…I mean to Shaw's Acres. Though I have to warn you, Laura said she'd cook and her food always is a little…well…strange."

Charlotte had to laugh through her tears. "That's what Alex always said about you, too."

"I know, I know…but I've changed that, haven't I?"

On Killarney Alex and Emily had just finished dinner and the girl was now curious what her room looked like. When they had arrived Rhonda had already had dinner ready so Alex had just dropped everything in the hallway and they had sat down to eat.

"Whoa that was good…Rhonda is almost as good as Mum…though nothing beats Mum's spaghetti…"

Alex laughed "Well, she'll just have to make them for me one day so I can make my own judgement…"

Her father's comment reminded Emily of the mission her and Charlotte were on. But she ad decided to leave the topic for today and enjoy the evening. Because what would happen if Alex didn't love her mother anymore and got angry about her question? She couldn't risk that. So Emily decided to wait for the right moment.

"Dad? Can we go and have a look at my room now? Or am I still on kitchen duty?"

Alex laughed "Actually you are…but I'll think we can leave it tonight if you promise to make me breakfast in bed again tomorrow…"

Emily grinned "Deal…can we go see my room then? Please!" she begged.

"In a second Em, I have to tell Rhonda first she doesn't have to get up in the morning…"

Emily sighed but let her Dad go while she put the plates together and on the tray so Rhonda would have it easier. When she was finished and Alex still hadn't returned she decided to take the tray to the kitchen to look for him.

Emily found him sitting on the bench at the kitchen table with a fork in hand, having another piece of cake. Rhonda saw her first and started laughing "Oh, oh…I think you're in deep trouble now Alex Ryan…"

"What? Why…Emily…you want another piece of cake?" Alex said with an apologetic look at his daughter.

"No, actually I wanna see my room now…come on Dad, you can have the cake later…together with me!"

Alex sighed and took one last look at the cake before he got up and followed his daughter out of the kitchen.

They grabbed Emily's bag and made their way upstairs till they stood in front of the girl's new room. The door was closed so Alex asked her if she was ready to go inside. Emily nodded and opened the door.

When she saw what Alex had done to it she was speechless. This was even more beautiful than she had thought. Emily had chosen blue and yellow as the dominant colours for her room and Alex had not only put the things in it that they had bought, he had also added four posts to the bed and had put blue and yellow cloth over it so that it now looked like the bed of a princess...at least that was what Emily thought.

"What gave you the idea to change the bed?" she was finally able to say.

"I don't really know…" Alex answered "I was finished with the room and thought something was missing…do you like it?"

"Oh yeah! It's great! Thank you Dad…the room is just gorgeous! I've never had anything that beautiful!" she turned around and hugged Alex and kissed him on the cheek and Alex held her tight.

"You're welcome Em…glad you like it! Charlotte's bed looks the same by the way…just different colours…Now unpack your things and come down again…I want to teach you how to play poker!"

When Claire and Charlotte arrived on Shaw's Acres they had barely left the car when Charlotte saw a woman come running out of the house towards them. 'That must be Aunty Laura…' she thought and made herself ready for a wild welcome.

"Hey! You took your time!" the woman said and hugged Claire "I was expecting you half an hour ago…"

"I'm sorry Laura…we stopped on the way for a while, but we're here now. So…this is Charlotte!" Claire said and pointed to the other side of the car.

Charlotte lifted her hand and Laura walked around the car to have a closer look.

"Wow…welcome to Shaw's Acres, Charlotte! I must say…you look even more like your mother than Emily does…Can I give you a hug?"

Charlotte smiled and nodded and shortly after that felt Laura's arms around her.

"Now…let's go and have dinner before you two head off to the cottage and I don't get to see Charlotte at all…I've cooked a little something. It's only us three, Bernard is in town…some council meeting…"

After dinner, which hadn't tasted as strange as Charlotte had thought, she and Claire helped Laura clean the kitchen before they made their way to the cottage.

When her mother opened the door to let her in the first thing Charlotte saw was the picture she had painted for her mother hanging on the living room wall.

"You put it up?"

Claire looked a little surprised "Yeah, why not? It's really good! You have a huge talent…and it's the first present I ever got from you! Don't you think it looks great up there on the wall?"

Charlotte smiled and hugged her Mum "Thank you Mum…"

"You're welcome Charlotte. Now come on, I'll show you where you can leave your things and you can have a look at your sister's room…"

Later Claire and Charlotte sat on the couch together watching a DVD, Charlotte snuggled up in her mother's arms. About half way through the film both of them were sound asleep…


	35. Chapter 35

35

The next morning Alex was woken by his ringing sat-phone that was on his bedside table.

"Hello?" he said still not fully awake and with a rough voice. He could hear somebody laugh on the other line and say "Hey sleepyhead…I can so tell you're the boss on Killarney if you're still sleeping at this time of day…"

"Claire…good morning to you too…" Alex liked the fact that Claire tried to go by her old name again. He knew how much self conquest it must have taken her and that it was probably still strange to hear somebody call you by a name that is not really fully yours because you can't remember.  
"Morning Alex…I just wanted to know how your first evening and night alone with Emily was? Is she all right?" Alex could hear the worry in her voice and had to smile. Claire was really a good mother and more than once he had wished that he could have seen her handle Emily or Charlotte when they were growing up.

"We're fine here…I'm actually waiting for my breakfast…but by the smell that is making its way into my room it won't be long…"  
"Having your personal slave there, huh?"  
"Hey, what are kids for?" Alex hoped Claire knew he was joking.

"Well, at least your slave is better trained than mine…I will have to work on Charlotte's cooking skills while she's here!"  
Alex laughed "Good luck! But since you weren't totally hopeless I guess she can learn it, too…So, how was your first night with Charlotte alone?" he changed the subject fast but only got silence on the other end of the line. "Claire?"  
"Did you know that Charlotte blames herself for her step-mother's death? And that her father seems to be thinking the same?"

"No…I know Peter has a problem with horses ever since, that was the reason why Charlotte wasn't allowed to ride but I didn't know that he blames her for it…are you sure?"  
"Well, it's what Charlotte said…we'll have to ask Peter when we talk to him about what's happened…"  
"Yeah, you can be sure I will ask him about that! I thought he had changed but this sounds so much like him! Anyway…speaking of telling…Jodi called yesterday before I left to pick Emily up, I forgot to tell you. She's coming back tomorrow evening…we need to decide when we want to tell her about still being alive…"  
Alex heard Claire sigh. "I know…though I really don't know how we can do that without Jodi getting the shock of her life…but I'd really like to be there so I can explain some things myself…"  
"Well, you're welcome to stay on Killarney any time you want…how about next week? There's not much going on here then…actually the next two weeks are just regular business so I could give you all the support you want…"  
"That's a nice offer Alex but unfortunately the next two weeks will be extremely busy here so I can't possibly get away. And then it's time for the girls' Easter holidays already so I'll have Emily home..."  
Alex heard a knock on the door "Claire, can I call you back later…my breakfast is here…Come in Em!"  
Claire laughed "You're like Emily…food is more important than anything…"  
"Actually Emily is like me and she is damn right about that!" Alex smiled at his daughter who placed the tray on the bed and hopped in next to him.

"I'll call you later…bye!" Alex said and placed the phone on his bedside table. "Now…what do you have for me Em…you know, you really do need a nickname!" Alex put his hand on his chin and looked like he thought really hard.

"Do I? I think Em is perfectly fine…Mum always calls me honey but it's so embarrassing in the public. Who was on the phone?"  
"That was your mother who thought it was time for me to get up…And yes, you do need a nickname…I guess honey is out of question then…"  
"Definitely!" Emily said resolute.

"Hmm, what else do we have…Charlotte's my little squirt so that won't work either…"  
"Dad? Could we eat first? The bacon and the eggs are getting cold and I really like them when they're still hot…"  
"Oh absolutely…see, there's a name missing. I'll think about while we eat…" Alex grabbed a piece of toast, buttered it and handed it to Emily. Then he did the same for him.

"How about rugrat…"  
"I'm really too old for that!"

"Baby girl?"  
"Oh no…Dad, please! Why can't we just stick to Em?"  
"But you are my baby girl!"  
"But I'm not a baby anymore!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…so I guess you won't like princess either?"  
"No way!"

"Then I don't know…" Alex shoved another load of bacon on the next toast when Emily leaned over him and grabbed a framed photo that was sitting on his bedside table.

"Hey, why didn't you show me that yesterday?"  
"I guess we were too busy playing poker…I forgot…sorry…baby girl!" Alex got a slap on the arm for that.

The picture Emily was holding was one of those taken two weeks ago when the girls and Claire had been on Killarney. Rhonda had taken it and it showed Alex and Claire with Emily and Charlotte in the middle. Alex had liked it so much that he had got it framed. It showed his 3 favourite women in the world…

"It's a nice picture, isn't it?" Alex said his daughter.

"Yeah…my whole family together…" he heard a little sadness in Emily's voice and asked her. "You miss your Mum?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders "A little…I don't know, I just wish that she and Charlotte could be here, too. We had so much fun the last time…"

"I know, but it's not possible right now…you mother is living and working somewhere else…"  
"Dad?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you still love Mum? I mean…Charlotte told me you were together before her accident…"  
"Yes we were, I even wanted to marry her. You're the proof of that…" he kissed her on the head.  
"So do you still love her?"  
Alex had to smile "Are you trying to marry your mother off again?"  
Emily blushed a little, she hadn't thought her thoughts were so obvious "No…not really, I just thought it would be nice if we were all one family…you, Mum, Charlotte and me…"

Alex put his arm around his daughter and sighed. He had known that this talk would come one day and he was prepared. "Listen Emily…if I still love your Mum or not is not the problem…it's rather that her and I have spent so many years apart that we don't really know each other anymore. Especially since your mother can't remember anything. So just give us some time and we'll see where it takes us, ok? At the moment Claire is a good friend and I'm happy about that…"

Emily leaned against her father's chest and nodded. "Ok…it was just a thought anyway…"

Alex looked at the picture of the four of them again. It still amazed him to see Emily and Charlotte next to each other. If he hadn't known better he would have guessed the girls were twins. Emily was already as tall as Charlotte and would probably outgrow her older sister soon. He sighed and then his eyes lit up.

"Hey! I know a nickname…what you think of Shorty…that doesn't sound like a little girl now, does it?"  
Emily sighed. "I guess if you have to give me a nickname I can live with Shorty…better than baby girl anyway!"

Alex now had a huge grin on his face "That's done then. So Shorty…what's the plan for the rest of the day?"

On Shaw's Acres it was Claire surprising Charlotte with breakfast in bed. She had prepared everything for Laura and Bernard but had decided it was much nicer to eat together with her daughter.

Charlotte was still sleeping peacefully. After they had woken up late on the couch together last night both of them had had trouble to go back to sleep so they had decided that Charlotte might as well spend the night in Claire's bed so they were able to talk a bit to get tired again. In the safety of me mother's arms it hadn't taken the girl long to fall asleep again and when Claire's alarm clock had gone off in the morning she had only let out a little groan and had turned around to sleep again.

Now Claire sat down on the side of the bed and gently kissed her daughter on the forehead. Charlotte stirred and stretched herself before she slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey Charlotte…how about some breakfast in bed?"

The girl sat up and gave her mother a hug and a good morning kiss "Thanks Mum, you're the best. What time is it?"  
"Almost 8…didn't you wanna go for a ride today with a certain mother of yours? Time to get your bum out of bed!"  
"Are we really going for a ride?"  
"Sure, as soon as we've had breakfast and you're dressed properly. Do you have farm clothes with you or do you wanna borrow some of your sister? You should have the same size and I don't think she'd mind…"  
"I think I will go with Emily's stuff then…" Charlotte said. "Now hop in Mum and have breakfast with me…before it gets cold…"

Half an hour later mother and daughter were on their way to the stables to saddle up the horses. When Charlotte saw how beautiful Emily's horse was she knew why her sister had always said it was the best horse on the planet. She felt really honoured that Emily had allowed her to ride it.

"Wow Mum…Shadow is really great!"  
"Isn't he? Emily got him for her 10th birthday from Bernard and Laura. But…he's really hot tempered, too. And you're not used to riding so…you're wearing this!" Claire said and handed Charlotte a helmet.

"Mum! Please! I'll be fine, really!"  
"I know but you'll wear it anyway or we're not going. Come on, be a good girl and put it on…" she threw the helmet to Charlotte but the girl hadn't paid attention it hit her on the head and she fell over.

"BOM!" Claire shouted and with a few steps she was at her daughter's side and kneeled down.

Charlotte groaned and held her head but had a confused look on her face. "What did you just call me?"

"Are you all right? What do you mean with what did I just call you?"

"You called me BOM…"  
"Did I?" Claire hadn't realized that "Hmm, I have no idea why though…"  
Charlotte sat up and took her mother's hand. "But I do…it used to be my nickname, you gave it to me. Only Aunty Tess sometimes still calls me like that. And Jodi. I haven't heard it in a long time…" the girl had tears running down her face now.  
Claire took her daughter in her arms "What does it mean? I know I said it so it must have been something I kind of remembered but I don't really know what it means…"  
"It means Baby of McLeod…Tess said after I was born you couldn't decide on a name for me at first so you named me BOM. And that stayed…"

"Well, you're no baby anymore now…do you still like the name?"  
"Oh yeah, always have…it was something that you gave me…"  
"Good, I like it, too. I must say it was a good choice for a temporary name. So BOM…if you're sure you're not hurt get that helmet on your head and get on the horse. I want you to meet Bernard and he's on the other end of the property."

Charlotte didn't complain about the helmet anymore, she was just happy that her mother had remembered something about her. Quickly she put it on, took Shadow's reins and followed her mother out of the stables…


	36. Chapter 36

**36**

Alex and Emily spent almost the whole day on horse back. First they went to fix a fence and Alex was once again impressed by his daughter's skills. She knew exactly what she was doing and the fence was fixed in no time. Then they raced back to Killarney to pick up their lunch and Alex again had a hard time keeping up with Emily. After lunch the girl decided it was time for some serious training so Alex helped her put up some jumps and Emily went through the course several times then they would change something or they'd choose a different route and she went through it again. Alex stood at the side and proudly watched his daughter, giving her a few orders and telling her what she could change to make things better.

After a while Emily decided she had done enough training in a fenced off area and asked her father if they could do some cross country training. So Alex saddled up his horse again and this time chose a route over Killarney that would enable Emily to do a few cross country jumps and quick turns.

"Ok Shorty…see those piled up logs over there?" Emily nodded "Wanna try and take it? I know it's a bit higher than what you went over so far but you'll make it. Just be careful, there are a few trees coming up pretty quickly afterwards…you see them?"

"Yep, what's better, turn right or left after the jump to avoid the trees?"

Alex had a closer look and then said "Turn left, if you go right the ground turns a little soft, so I think left is better."

Emily nodded and pushed her horse to gallop quickly so she'd be fast enough for the jump. Alex nervously looked as his daughter got closer and closer to the logs and finally took the horse to jump. Horse and girl landed on the other side and he saw Emily's body being pushed down to the horse's neck while they both flew towards the upcoming trees. Alex held his breath. 'Left Em…left! Come on, you can do it…' he thought to himself, his hands tightly closed to fists around the reins of his own horse.

Finally he saw Emily turn the horse to the left and a happy sigh escaped his mouth. She had made it! God she was good! Was she really only eleven?

Alex dismounted his horse and waited for Emily to come back to him. When she rode up he saw the huge grin on her face and knew she was pumped up now.

"Did you see that? It was so great! God…I can't believe I really did that jump! Ok…what can I do now?" she slipped of her horse when she had reached him jumped into his arms. Alex whirled her around. He was as excited as she was.

"Well…" he said as he placed her down again "looking at my watch it tells me we should go back so you can help Rhonda with dinner preparations…you're still on kitchen duty after all!"

Emily made a long face but nodded as she walked back to her horse "Ok…" she said and mounted "I guess I've done enough training today. Can I call Mum later and tell her about the jump?"

"Sure you can…now come on, let's get back and see what Rhonda has planned for us.

On Shaw's Acres Claire showed Charlotte the property and saw that the girl's riding was getting better by the minute.

And the huge smile on her daughter's face told her that the girl was truly happy at the moment. Claire couldn't really place it if it was just the horse riding though. It was probably more than that. Charlotte had been more relaxed and at ease ever since Claire had remembered her baby name…a fact that made mother as happy as daughter. Claire always felt sad when she thought about all the years she had lost with Charlotte because she couldn't remember her so now that little bits of the short time she had had with her daughter came back to her mind it just made her heart overflow with joy. Maybe the rest of her memory would come back, too one day.

They rode until Claire could make out Bernard and the other hands with a herd of sheep they were trying to get in so they could be sheered the following week.

"There's Bernard…" she said and pointed him out to Charlotte "You wanna go over and meet him? Because I know for a fact he's dying to meet you…"

"It won't be like meeting Laura though…will it?"

Claire laughed "No, he'll be fine with just giving you a wave at the moment. We can stay with them for a while and help them get the sheep in if you want…"

"Sure, why not? If things had gone a little different I would have grown up on a farm anyway…so yeah, it'll be fun."

Charlotte's last comment gave Claire a guilty conscience once again because she hadn't been in her daughter's life for so long. Although she knew it wasn't her fault she couldn't help but blame herself.

They rode over to Bernard and the hands and the man simply touched his hat and nodded his head when Claire introduced Charlotte to him. "Nice to meet you Charlotte." He said "You don't look too bad on horse back…wanna help us get the sheep in?"

The little feared look on Charlotte's face now turned into a smile as she heard Bernard's compliment about her riding.

"We will have to ride back home before you get in though so I can have lunch ready for you lot…" Claire reminded Bernard and her daughter.

"Can't I stay with them Mum? Please? I promise I'll be careful…"

"And I promise I'll look out for her…" Bernard added with a wink.

Claire sighed. "All right…you can stay with Bernard. But no pulling any stunts! Both Alex and your father would kill me! And I'm glad to be alive again…"

All three of them laughed at that comment.

Claire stayed with the herd for a little while watching her daughter trying to help as much as she could. The girl had fun, there was no doubt about that and Bernard was happy to show her what to do.

When she saw Charlotte was well taken care off she told the others she'd ride back and prepare lunch so they would all be able to fill their hungry stomachs when the sheep were in. With one last look at her daughter she rode off.

Claire was just putting the finishing touches on the lunch when she heard running feet in the hallway shortly followed by the figure of her daughter pushing through the kitchen door.

"Mum? It was so great! Uncle Bernard is so nice and he said I could come back and help him whenever I can! Can I go out with him again tomorrow?"

Claire smiled. "UNCLE Bernard?"

"Yeah, he said since he was Emily's uncle he might as well be mine, too and I could call him like that…"

"And in your excitement you forgot to take your shoes off…" Claire said shaking her head looking at the dirt Charlotte had brought in.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Oh…I'm sorry Mum…we had to get the sheep along the river and one went down and got stuck in the mud…I helped to get it out" the girl said with a proud look on her face and Claire couldn't help but laugh.

"Well…I can see that! Get your boots off young lady and get yourself cleaned in the cottage. I don't want you to catch a cold!" Charlotte nodded, took her shoes off and left the kitchen. "And hurry up or all of the lunch will be gone!" Claire shouted after her.

Later that day Charlotte and her mother sat on the couch arm in arm in the cottage and were looking at photo albums of Claire's life since the accident. Claire also told a lot of stories about Emily's life and more than once Charlotte laughed at things her little sister had done.

When they had finished with the last photo album Charlotte noticed an envelope on the table under the albums and asked Claire what that was.

"That? Oh, that's the pictures we took two weeks ago on Killarney. Alex gave them to me on Friday before we went to pick you and Emily up. I guess with you being round I just forgot about them…shall we have a look? I haven't seen them yet either…"  
Charlotte nodded and leaned forward to pick up the envelope with the photos. She moved back into her mother's arms taking the pictures out.

They laughed as they remembered each scene and when they came to the photo of all four of them that Rhonda had taken Claire ran her fingers over it and sighed. "I'll have to have this one framed…it shows all my favourite people in the world…ok, Laura and Bernard are missing but still…I'll have to buy a frame for it."

Charlotte looked at her mother and carefully asked "Mum? How do you feel about Alex?"

"What do you mean BOM?"

"I mean…you two were together once and I know you can't remember that now…but how do you feel about him now? Do you even like him?"

Claire sighed again. She had expected that talk from Emily rather than from Charlotte since her younger daughter had already made some comments about her and Alex. But now it was the older one of the girls and she would give her the same answer she would have given Emily.

"I don't know how I feel about him, honestly…it's very difficult for me." She said and pulled her daughter closer to her.

"But do you like him?"

"Of course I do" Claire chuckled "How could I not? He's helped me so much with all that has happened lately, how could I honestly not like him. He's become a really good friend to me but…"

"You're not in love with him?" Charlotte finished her mother's sentence and looked at her.

"No, I'm sorry BOM. At least not the way you might want it. I like to be around him, it's somehow really easy to talk to him and I feel safe when we're together but I don't think that is what you want, right?"

"I don't want anything Mum…it's just…you know, Emily and I want to see you and Alex happy."

"Well, we are…in a certain way he does make me happy…give it some time Charlotte and we'll have to see, ok? Right now I'm just happy to have a friend who accepts that I'm not anymore who I used to be and that can still tell me what my former life was like."

"Ok Mum…I think I can live with that."

Claire smiled and kissed her daughter on the head "You'll have to Charlotte…"

After dinner that night Emily asked her father if she could call her mother and Charlotte and Alex agreed. He had to do some bookwork anyway but wanted to talk to Claire when Emily was finished.

Happily the girl dialled her home number and first talked to her mother for a few minutes before she asked for her sister…the real reason of her call. So Claire handed the phone to Charlotte.

"Em? Hold on…I'll go into your room so we can talk…sorry Mum, some things need to stay between sisters and only sisters…" Emily heard Charlotte say on the other end and was glad.

"Ok, I'm alone now…"

"Good" Emily said "Me too, Alex is doing bookwork and I'm in the living room. How do you like the farm? And Mum?"

"It's great Em…I never thought I could have so much fun with Mum. You're right, she's really the best! She let me stay with Uncle Bernard the whole morning…we brought some sheep in…" Charlotte couldn't stop talking and Emily smiled. She could wait "And guess what…"

"What?"

"Mum remembered something about me!"

"She did? What was it?"

"The baby name she gave me! I kind of got knocked down today and when I was on the floor she just screamed it out! Isn't that great?"

"You kind of got knocked down? How did that happen?" Emily was curious now.

"Ummm…something about a helmet and me not paying attention…doesn't matter…what do you say about the baby name?"

"That's great Char. And what is your baby name?"

"BOM…as in Baby of McLeod. Mum gave it to me because she couldn't come up with a name for me at first. And she really remembered it! So…how was your day with Alex?"

"Just as great as yours…we did some practice for the cross country. I did a really high and dangerous jump and I did it! I really did it! It was such a great feeling…oh, and I talked with Dad about Mum…but I couldn't really get anything out of him other than that he's glad she's his friend again…"

"Yeah, Mum said about the same thing. This will be really hard work for us…"

Charlotte and Emily talked for a little while longer about their adventures of the day and then both handed the phones to their respective parent.

Claire and Alex talked about their days with the girls and then agreed to meet up the next day at an ice café in town before the girls had to be back in school so they could discuss properly how to tell Claire's sister about her not being dead and what to do with the girls next…


	37. Chapter 37

**37**

Sunday passed pretty quickly on both farms and soon it was time for Alex and Emily to get on the way to where they would meet up with Claire and Charlotte.

Alex wanted to leave as early as possible to avoid Jodi making an early surprise visit to Killarney. You never knew with that woman and Alex had no idea how he should have explained Emily's presence in case Jodi popped over and found her on Killarney. He would get into enough trouble once the truth was out and Claire's family knew they'd kept her being alive a secret for quite a while.

Emily was up in her room packing the rest of her stuff when Alex knocked on her open door. "Ready Shorty? We should get going…I don't wanna arrive too late. Your Mum and Charlotte will have eaten all the ice cream and we can't let that happen now, can we?"

Emily looked up and sighed. She stuffed the rest of her things in her bag and took one last look around her room.

"Dad? When can I come back?"

"That's what we're about to discuss with your mother and sister. Plus we have to decide what we'll do with the two of you during the Easter holidays…"

"Can we spend them here? All four of us together?"

Alex smiled and grabbed his daughter's bag from her bed while he put his other arm around her shoulders "We really have to talk about that Em…I don't think your Mum can take time off again, she just had two weeks…"

"I'm sure Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura won't mind…and Mum still has to talk to her family. They have to let her come here for that, don't they?"  
Alex sighed. If only life was as simple as in the mind of his eleven year old daughter.

"We'll have to see Shorty…I can't make any promises. Now…go and say goodbye to Rhonda while I take your bag outside. But hurry up, I don't wanna take the chance of running into your Aunt Jodi…we would both be in real trouble!"  
Emily hugged her Dad and ran into the kitchen to say goodbye to the housekeeper that had become more like a grandmother to her, a role that Rhonda really seemed to enjoy.

Soon the girl joined her father in the car and with one last look on Killarney they drove off towards Westminster College.

On Shaw's Acres Charlotte was just saying goodbye to Emily's horse Shadow. She and her mother had taken another short ride that morning just the two of them and Charlotte had formed a real bond to her sister's horse.

Claire watched her daughter pet the horse's neck and talk to it silently from the entrance. When she looked on her watch she saw that it was really time to leave or they would be late for their meet up with Alex and Emily. And having the shorter way she could already hear Alex teasing her for being late if he and her other daughter should already be there before she and Charlotte showed up. And that was something she couldn't let happen.

"Come on BOM, time to go…" she said from where she was standing.

The girl nodded and gave the horse one last hug before she joined her mother on the way to the car.

"Mum?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think when you've told my Dad the truth about you still being alive…do you think you could ask him if I can join the riding team at school?" Charlotte quietly asked without looking up.

Claire put and arm around her daughter and sighed. "I don't know, Char…it all depends on how he reacts…"

"But you're my Mum right? He has to listen to you, doesn't he?"

"We'll have to see, ok?"

If only it was as easy as in her daughter's mind sometimes. Claire wished she could give her daughter a better answer because she knew how much it would mean to Charlotte to be able to ride again whenever she felt like it without her mother or godfather holding her back. But she had no idea how Peter would react to the news of her not being dead like he had thought the last 12 years. She didn't know the man at all but from her daughter's and Alex's stories she could tell he wasn't the easiest person to deal with.

"Say goodbye to Laura and Bernard while I put your things in the car, ok?"

Charlotte nodded and went over to hug first Bernard then Laura. After Bernard's offer to consider him her adopted Uncle Laura had decided if her husband got a new niece she wanted one too. So now Charlotte had another Aunt and Uncle to the ones she had already had and she loved them already.

"I had a great time! Thanks for letting me come here…"

"You're welcome Charlotte, we love having you here and you'll always have a place here on Shaw's Acres if you ever need to get away, ok?"

Claire had heard Bernard's sentence and said jokingly "Don't encourage her…she has a tendency to elope…Come on BOM, hop in the car. We don't wanna be late and have our two gluttons eat all the ice cream before we get there!"

With one last wave Charlotte got in the car and waved her new Aunt and Uncle goodbye.

When Alex and Emily arrived at the ice café they saw that Claire and Charlotte were already there, leaned over a huge bowl of what seemed to be chocolate ice cream.

As soon as Emily saw her mother and sister she shouted for them and ran to where they were seated.

Alex saw Claire jump up in her seat and open her arms so her daughter could slip inside while Charlotte had a huge grin on her face as she saw him. Alex hugged his goddaughter and asked her "How was your weekend squirt?" as she snuggled up close to him.

"It was great Alex! I had so much fun with Mum and Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura…"

Alex was surprised "Uncle and Aunt? That was fast…" he said with a wink.

"They are great. Just as Em said. I was out with Uncle Bernard brining some sheep in yesterday!"

"Wow, I'm proud of you Char…"

"Oh, and guess what!"

"What?"

"Mum called me BOM and I didn't even have to tell her!"

Alex's eyes grew wide and he looked over to Claire who had just let go of Emily. "You remembered her baby name?"  
Claire happily smiled at him and nodded.

After the welcome they all sat down, Alex next to Claire and Emily next to her sister and ordered another giant bowl of ice cream for Alex and Emily. While they waited Alex tried a couple times to stick his finger into Claire's and Charlotte's ice but Claire always slapped his hand before he could get there.

"Get your hands off my ice, Alex…you'll get your own!" she said and hit him again, but this time his hand landed on Claire's glass which of course fell over and the water that was in it spilled all over Alex's jeans.

Alex jumped up and Claire and the girls started laughing uncontrollably.

"CLAIRE!" he shouted and tried to wipe the water away with a paper napkin. "Look what you've done!"

"Oh no Alex Ryan…that was all your own fault!"

"I look like I peed my pants!" he looked at Claire accusingly.

"Don't blame me when you're acting like a little boy who can't wait for his ice cream. Even Emily could wait…" Claire still couldn't stop giggling and the girls had their hands over their mouths.

"Come on…you could have let me have one try, P! Just one try…"

"Why? That's my ice cream and I'm really not sure I want your not so clean finger in it…"

"Yeah, yeah…I'll be at the washrooms and look if they have one of those blow dryers for the hands…" Alex said and walked off and Claire shouted after him "Just make sure you don't let it get too hot…who knows, you might still need your bits!" which sent her and the girls into another fit of laughter.

When Alex came back Emily had already started on their bowl of ice cream. His jeans were fairly dry again and he still smiled about Claire's comment about burning his bits.

"Hey Shorty…leave something for me, will ya?" he shouted as he walked over to their table and sat down. "So P…have you decided on when you wanna talk to Jodi?" Alex started on the hard topic right away to keep Claire from teasing him.

She finished up the last of her bowl and looked at the girls first and then at Alex. "I've thought about it…what would you think about Easter?"

Alex saw Emily and Charlotte prod each other and exchange hopeful looks and he had to smile. But he turned his attention back to the woman next to him.

"Can you get the time off?"

"Yeah, but only the Easter weekend. Bernard and Laura are spending it with their sons so they don't need me. We could get the girls and spend a few days on Killarney…" Claire looked at him and added "If that's ok with you…"

Alex smiled as he saw the happy looks on the girls' faces in the prospect of spending Easter together.

"Sure, fine by me…you know I like having you and the girls around…" he said and the smile on Claire's face told him she liked to be together with him, too.

"Dad?" Emily asked from her side of the table and first looked at Charlotte then turned to her father. "What about the Easter holidays?"

"Yeah, that's something we need to talk about, too…" Alex said and looked at Claire expectantly.

"What?" she asked looking in the round "So it's my decision what happens, or what?"

"Sure…" Alex replied "You're the only one here that has to work since you only have the Easter weekend off…you'll have to decide what you can do and what happens with the girls. You're their mother. And by the looks on their faces I think they wanna spend their holidays together…"  
He saw them heavily nodding.

Claire had a cheeky grin on her face "Did you realize Alex that you just admitted that you're not actually working…"

"What?" he looked at her confused.

"You said that I get to decide because I'm the only one that has to work…"

"Get away Claire…you know how I meant it…so what it your decision?"

Claire laughed at the Alex's face before she said "I can't really tell you yet…I'll have to see what the next two weeks bring and then see if I can get a couple more days off than just Easter. It all depends on Bernard and Laura."

"Come on Mum…you know they will give you as much time off as you want!" Emily told her mother.

"Emily Rose Newbury…you know was well as I do that I can't be away from the farm if there's heaps of work to do…I'll have to check back with your Uncle and see what I can do. That's all I'm gonna say now. Got that?"

Emily didn't look very pleased but said "Yes Mum…" and then she crossed her arms before her chest and added "And it's McLeod-Ryan now…"

Alex had to smile. The way his daughter looked at her mother now was so Claire, it was funny. To clear the air he then said "Well…that's the deal then. We all spend Easter together and will see from there depending on Claire's work situation…" He looked at his bowl and realized the ice had all melted by now. "Great…with all our discussions we now have chocolate sauce instead of yummy chocolate ice…"

That completely cleared the tension between Claire and her younger daughter and all four of them laughed again.

"That's the best way to eat ice cream Dad…didn't you know?" Emily winked at her father and put a spoon full of the now fluid ice in her mouth.

Alex shrugged his shoulders and together they finished up the last remains before it was time for the girls to get back to their school…


	38. Chapter 38

**38**

After they had said goodbye to the girls Claire and Alex walked back to their car and once again had to say goodbye to each other.

"Thanks for a lovely afternoon Alex…" Claire said, not daring to look him in the eye "I had lots of fun and thanks for the laugh…I hope you don't mind!"

Alex smiled at her "Nah, it's ok…you really haven't changed in that department…but I had fun, too. Thanks for letting me have Emily over the weekend…"

"Thanks for letting me have Charlotte…"

"Well, I don't really have much say in her life…" Claire could see the sadness that appeared in Alex's eyes and knew that he was thinking about the fact that if they had found her after the accident he would have a say in Charlotte's life now.

Claire didn't really know what to say to help him but she felt sorry for him. He clearly loved her oldest daughter as if she was his own child.

"I'm sorry Alex…I wish every day that this stupid accident hadn't happened…" she said.

"It's all right Claire, it's not your fault and we can't change it now so let's just make the best out of it and enjoy the time we have together, ok?"

"Talking about my accident…have you thought about a good way of letting my sisters know I'm alive without giving them the shock of their life?"

"No…and I don't think there is a way they won't be shocked…they think you've been dead for 12 years…"

"How are we gonna tell them then?"

"Well, you could just walk in on Jodi the way you walked in on me…" Alex suggested with a wink and got a slap on the arm from Claire for that.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault I showed up on your doorstep like that…you can blame both my daughters and my memory loss…and I really don't wanna do that to Jodi. I'm not like that…"

"Yeah, I know…I'll think of something and we'll talk it through on the phone, ok? We can do that as soon as you know how long you can get off…"

"Sounds good to me. I'll probably know by tomorrow or Tuesday the latest. I'll give you a call, ok?"

"Righto…I better go home and face Jodi and her surprise…she should be back by now…"

"Is that why you've left your sat phone in the car all the time you've been here? To not have to talk to her?"

"Yeah, was it that obvious?"

"Well, I spent two weeks on Killarney and I never really saw you without that thing so…yeah, it was obvious."

Alex smiled "I love my technical things…but you're right, I didn't wanna get into the situation of having to lie to Jodi in front of Emily…"

"Well, then you better go now…I'll call you as soon as I know, ok?"

Claire looked at Alex who nodded then smiled and opened his arms so he could give her a hug. Then Claire got in her car and drove off…

When Alex got in his car he could already see that he had a few missed calls on his sat phone…Jodi. She was definitely back and there was no way he could get around talking to her. So he picked up his phone and dialled the number of the Drovers homestead. After only two rings Jodi picked up.

"Drovers Run…" Alex heard her voice on the other end and smiled. He had missed Jodi and her liveliness.

"Hey Jodi, it's Alex…"

"Hey! Where are you? I called Killarney and only got Rhonda who told me you were not in and I should try your sat phone…but you didn't answer that as well? So…where the hell are you Alex Ryan? I was worried!"

Alex had listened to Jodi's tirade patiently, he had known that this would come. Now that she seemed to have finished he answered "Same old Jodi, eh? I'm sorry I didn't answer my sat phone but I forgot it in the car. And I am at Westminster College because I had Charlotte over for the weekend and just took her back…" Alex knew this was a lie but he couldn't possibly tell Jodi about Emily because he couldn't explain her existence without mentioning that Claire was still alive.

"Charlotte? As in my niece?"

"Any other kid you know with that name?"

"Alex! Why didn't you tell me she was with you? I would have come a day early! And why was she with you again in the first place? I would never have thought that Peter lets her stay with you that often!"

"It's a long story Jodi, too long to tell on the phone. And the way it looks now you'll probably see Charlotte over Easter. But could we discuss that tomorrow and in person? I still have a long way to drive and am getting tired because your niece wore me out…" Not a complete lie since Emily was actually Jodi's niece…

"Ok, do you wanna come over after breakfast? You can give me a run down of what you've done and I'm sure my surprise would love to give you a big hug, too…"

"Now you got me curious Jodes…who is your surprise?"

Jodi laughed "You'll have to come round tomorrow to find out Alex…wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now…"  
Alex sighed and he and Jodi talked about a time he would go over to Drovers the next day before he hung up and got on his way home to Killarney.

When Claire arrived on Shaw's acres she was glad to still see light in the main house. That meant that either Laura or Bernard or even both were still awake and she could talk to them about taking time off. She had a little of a bad feeling about it because she had just had two weeks off but she also knew she had to tell her sisters about her still being alive. They had already put it off for way too long. And then there was of course the Easter holidays to talk about. Since Charlotte's father didn't seem to come back from the USA in the near future the girl would probably spend her holidays with Alex. And knowing her younger daughter she would probably want to join her sister. After all Alex was her father. But that would mean if Claire didn't get time off she wouldn't see both of her daughters for more than a few days.

With a sigh Claire got out of her car and headed towards the main house.

Inside she found Bernard and Laura on the sofa in the living room watching TV, Laura leaned against her husband. Claire smiled at the sight and hated to interrupt the intimate moment but she just had to try and clear everything tonight. So she cleared her throat and walked all the way into the room.

"Hey you two…I'm back…" she said and sat down in one of the chairs "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Laura must have seen the rather serious look on Claire's face and sat up straight "What's up Claire? You sound serious…"

Claire sighed. She didn't really know where to start. Those were her friends sitting opposite of her and she hated to let them down again.

"I don't know how to ask you this but…I know you won't be here over Easter and I will have that time off…but would there be a possibility to maybe get a few more days off after that? I know I just had a two week holiday…but you know that Emily's and Charlotte's Easter holidays are coming up and Charlotte will have to spend it at Killarney if we don't want to lie to her father again. And you know Emily, she will want to spend her holidays with her father and sister…I really hate to let you down again but I'd like to spend some time with my daughters, too…" Claire came up for air and Bernard took the opportunity to take the word.

"Claire…it's ok! You can have as much time off as you want…"

"What?" Claire was puzzled. That was not the reaction she had expected. Yes, Bernard and Laura were her friends but she was still working here and they were paying her for it. So she would have at least expected some resistance.

"Claire, we know you want to tell your family about you on Easter." Laura looked at her friend. "Bernard and I talked about it earlier today. As much as we would love to have Emily back here we think it's probably best you stay with your family for a while after you told them. You should really get to know your sister and who knows, the one in Argentina might come back home, too. So…if you hadn't asked about time off we would have forced you to do so…"

Claire was taken completely by surprise and was lost for words. When she finally found her words again she couldn't help the huge smile she had on her face. Her friends were really the best and she couldn't ask for better people to work for.

"And how long do you suggest I stay with my family? And what about my work here? You can't tell me you wanna eat Laura's cooking for ages, Bernard…" she asked looking from Bernard to Laura and back, still smiling.

Bernard laughed "No, you're right there…but we've already made some arrangements…"

"What arrangements? Don't tell me you're trying to replace me…"

Laura smiled at her friend "You know we could never do that…but we had a really nice phone call from Jason shortly after you and Charlotte left…" Claire was curious now. It didn't happen very often that one of the Shaw boys called their parents. Jason was the older one and from what Claire knew about her own life now was 10 years younger than she was. He had been married for 5 years and had a good running firm in the city.

"Jason made the suggestion that if we didn't mind he would rather like to spend Easter here than in the city and that Mark had agreed. When I told him that they would have to put up with my cooking because we had already told you we'd be away for Easter he said that it wouldn't be a problem because Cassie would be very happy to cook for all of us…" Laura continued and then looked at her husband.

Bernard smiled and then said "Jason said something about sharing some news and that he and Cassie would like to stay a while…"

Claire could see where the thoughts of her friends were going "You think Cassie's pregnant?"

"It sure sounded like it…" Laura said with a huge smile on her face. It would be her first grandchild.

"So…how long are they going to stay then?"

"We don't really know…but at least two weeks…which would cover the girls' Easter holidays…"

When Claire finally made it to her cottage she looked on her watch and decided it was not too late to call Alex right away and tell him the good news. And she was curious if her sister was really home and what she had said to Alex.

Alex had just walked through the door when the phone had started ringing. Claire. She had already talked to her boss and to her own surprise she had gotten another two weeks off so that she and the girls could now all spend the Easter holiday on Killarney…like a real family. That was the thought that came back to Alex's mind. The short time they had spent together at the ice café that day had made Alex realize that even though Claire was not the same person she was before her accident and that he had missed most of Charlotte's and Emily's life so far they were still the family he had always wanted and dreamed about. He had tried to have it with Fiona but even though they had been married for a long time he had never gotten as close to her as he was with Claire. Even now that she was a different person they were already closer than he ever was with Fiona. There was just something about Claire that made him trust her completely and gave him the feeling she was his family, a feeling he had rarely had in the past years with Nick and Tess in Argentina.

With the content feeling that Claire, Charlotte and Emily would spend two weeks with him soon Alex quickly drifted off to sleep…


	39. Chapter 39

**39**

When Alex walked towards the main house on Drovers the next morning, the lovely smell of a cooked breakfast found its way into his nose. Jodi had invited him for breakfast so he had only had two slices of toast at home before he came here. Now he was wondering who was cooking the breakfast because it probably wasn't Jodi…she was as bad in the kitchen as Claire had once been.

Really curious about who Jodi's surprise was Alex headed around the corner…and bumped into somebody only to hear the sound of a bursting plate seconds later.

"Well…there goes your breakfast Alex…" the person he had bumped into said to him and when Alex saw who it was, a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Meg!" he shouted and gave the woman a proper hug before she could do anything else. "So you're Jodi's surprise! Welcome home! You don't look a single day older than the day you left…"

Meg laughed. "Still the old Ryan charm…It's good to see you, too Alex!"

"Where's Terry?"

"Still sleeping…it's the age, you know…" Meg said with a wink and started to pick up the pieces of the broken plate from the floor along with the bacon that had been on it. "Well…I guess I need to make some more of that since you are still the clumsy fella you used to be…" Meg said and headed towards the stove after placing plate and bacon in the bin.

"What can I say…I'm doing my very best…" Alex said with a wink "How long are you two staying this time?"

Meg and Terry had spent the last few years travelling the world and had only paid Drovers a few visits once or twice a year. Now Alex hoped that both of them would still be around in two weeks when he and Claire wanted to break the news to her family. It would be a shock for Meg as much as for Jodi…Alex knew she had always thought of Claire like a daughter and had grieved badly after the accident.

"We don't know yet…but it'll be a while I guess. I've really missed this place, you know? No matter what I might have said in the past…this is home. Why are you asking?"

Alex had to bite his lip to not burst out with the news about Claire…he hated lying to everybody and not being able to share his joy. 'Only two more weeks…' he told himself in his thoughts, then said out loud "No particular reason…I just thought it would be nice to have you here for Easter…"

"Oh, we will definitely stay till then! Now come on…sit down and I'll look where Jodi is and wake that husband of mine…he's had enough sleep!" Meg said and headed for the kitchen door before turning around again with a warning look on her face "And Alex…I expect the food to still be there when I get back!"

Half an hour later the four of them were sitting round the kitchen table shovelling food on their plates talking about what had happened since they last saw each other. Alex was giving Jodi a detailed update on what had happened at Drovers and Jodi, Meg and Terry told him about their time in Argentina together with Tess, Nick and their two kids. Alex had seen neither of them since his last visit a year ago.  
They phoned at least twice a week but he really missed his brother and sister-in-law and his niece and nephew. But since little Claire had started school it was not as easy for them to come back to Australia and with his divorce and everything that he had to do after it was final Alex hadn't had the time to fly to South America. At the thought of his niece's name Alex had to smile…it would be really confusing now when Tess and Nick would be back…with two Claires!

"So…how come you had Charlotte again for the weekend and didn't tell me…" Jodi finally got to the point that really interested her.

Alex sighed. He had thought about what to tell Jodi but was still nervous he would let something slip about Claire or Emily.

"I'm sorry Jodi, I forgot to tell you…" he lied and hoped she couldn't see it. "Peter's on a very extended business trip in the USA and hasn't been back for months…and he agreed that Charlotte could come and visit me on her visiting weekends as often as she wants so she wouldn't have to be at school all the time. This wasn't the first weekend she spent with me as you know but I was so happy about it that I simply forgot to tell you on the phone…"

"Does that mean I might get to see her too on one of those weekends?" Jodi said and Alex could see she was still a little mad at him for not telling her.

"Of course Jodi…she's your niece! The way it looks at the moment she'll spend her whole Easter holidays with me…and I'm sure she'll want to spend some time with her Aunty Jodi…and of course with you and Terry, too." Alex added and looked at Meg and she smiled back at him. Alex knew she loved Charlotte like a granddaughter and had really missed the girl.

Jodi seemed happy with his answer but didn't fail to say "Ok Alex Ryan…I'll let you off the hook this time…but don't think that'll happen again in the near future!"

While the days passed quickly and the Easter holidays were getting closer and closer Charlotte and Emily were busy with school …and trying to figure out a plan to get Claire and Alex together. Their talks with their parents had encouraged to do so because both girls had gotten the feeling that there was still a chance for the two grown ups.

Since neither Charlotte nor Emily could come up with a really good idea of what exactly to do they consulted Peggie and Babette. Babs, who loved to read romantic novels, was in her element. She came up with all kinds of suggestions of romantic occasions that could get two people to fall in love. At least in her books they always did…

"What do you think about a romantic boat trip…you could put up torches around the lake and decorate the boat with flowers…" Babs got lost in her thoughts picturing the moment while Charlotte and Emily looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

"You really don't know our Mum Babs…" Emily said still laughing "She's not really the romantic type of person…and besides…we don't really have to money to buy torches and all those flowers for the boat…any other suggestions?"

Babs thought for a while but all she could come up with was more romantic situations that probably wouldn't work or were too expensive. Finally she said "What about a nice dinner? I'm sure your Mum has to eat and maybe if you sent them to a nice restaurant together and order a separated table or something…well, that would probably be too expensive, as well."

Babs was right but her idea planted a different idea into Charlotte's head. "Hey Em…what would you think about a romantic picnic or something on Killarney. Just the two of them…I think we could get Rhonda to help us…"

Emily looked at her sister and thought for a second "Yeah, could work…but how do we get them there? I'm not sure Mum or Dad would come if they knew it was only a picnic for them!"

"Then we don't tell them! We could write a note for them to meet us there and then we just don't show up…"

"Won't they be mad?"

"Nah, don't think so…and if they are they will calm down eventually. Especially if our plan works!"

Emily smiled. That was really a good plan. And even if Rhonda decided she didn't want to help they could still make something nice for her parents …

The girls quickly brought their plan into action by phoning up Rhonda who was only too willing to help them. So now everything was arranged for a romantic picnic for Claire and Alex out by one of the Killarney dams for the Friday they would arrive…

On Shaw's Acres Claire was preparing everything for the arrival of the two Shaw sons with their wives. They were scheduled to arrive Thursday and Claire would leave for Killarney on Friday morning, picking both girls up at the school. She and Alex had decided there was no need for him to drive all the way to the school when Claire was out on the street anyway. Saturday was the big day when Claire would face her family again to let them know she was alive.

She still couldn't remember any of them but she felt like she knew them at least a little by the stories both Alex and Charlotte had told her. She was still a little worried about their reaction though…especially the reaction to her memory loss and the fact that it would probably never return. Yes, she had had a few light moments when she remembered the study on Drovers or Charlotte's baby name, but they were no real memories, just episodes like when she had remembered her mother's name all those years back. She had talked about it with Laura and her friend had once again told her that she couldn't force her memory and that it was rather unlikely it would ever come back. So Claire now told herself every day that she would be all right even with no memory and slowly she even started to believe it.

On Thursday Claire put the finishing touches to the two guest rooms the boys would be staying in since their childhood rooms had been gone for years. Then she went to her cottage to pack the things she and Emily would need for the time in Killarney and packed a few extra things for Charlotte that she had bought the week before because she knew her older daughter didn't have the outfits with her she would need for spending time on a farm. Actually Claire didn't know if Charlotte had ever had work jeans and shirts and boots…but she had 2 brand new pairs of jeans, 4 shirts and a new pair of boots now.

When she had finished packing, Claire placed the bags in her car and just as she was finished she heard the honking of two cars…Jason and Mark had arrived.

So she hurried from the cottage to the main house and arrived just in time to welcome the four guests.

Since Jason had already been away from home to study when Claire had arrived on the farm their relationship never got as close as the one she had with Mark. Mark had been barely 18 and had just finished school when Claire had started to work on Shaw's Acres. Since the younger one of the brothers never seemed as determined as his older brother to where he wanted to take his life he had spent 3 years on the farm before he finally knew what he wanted to do with his life. Now he had just finished law school and had gotten a nice job in a small law firm. During the 3 years he had stayed at home Claire had always been like a big sister to him, his safe harbour when he had had a fight with his father again about what he wanted to do with his life.

So when Claire walked out of the main house and approached the two cars Mark shouted "Prue!" as soon as he saw her and came running to give her a hug.

"Hey you!" Claire said "Congrats on your new job! Laura told me you and Betsy can finally move into a bigger place now…" she pulled out of Mark's embrace and the two started talking while the others already got inside.

"Yeah, isn't that great? After living in shoe boxes for almost half a decade it'll be a nice change…And what is it I hear about you? You have found your family and you have a different name now?"

Claire smiled "Yeah…a lot has happened since you were last here. Come on, let's get inside so I can say hello to your lovely wife and your brother and sister-in-law!"

"Ok…but then you have to tell me everything!"

They spent the evening talking about Claire's life and what she had planned for the near future, about Mark and Betsy's plans for their new home and of course Jason and Carrie shared their big news…they were indeed going to have a baby and of course Laura and Bernard were overly happy and proud.

Claire excused herself soon after that and went to her cottage to get some sleep. She would have a long travelling day the following day and wanted to catch a good night's sleep. Before she went to bed she looked at the picture she had had on her bedside table ever since she had gotten it and smiled…Charlotte, Emily, Alex and her…like a real family. She was really curious what the two upcoming weeks would bring…with that thought she drifted off to sleep…


	40. Chapter 40

**40**

The next morning Claire prepared the last breakfast on Shaw's Acres for the next two weeks and was glad she had a little time to chat with Cassie who was helping her. Claire was surprised to hear that both Cassie and Jason were seriously thinking about moving back to the farm completely and was wondering if her duties would really be necessary then. She doubted that but didn't say it out loud and only assured that she would really like to get to know Jason and his wife better.

After breakfast it was time for Claire to leave and pick up her daughters. It was Good Friday and the streets would probably be packed with cars so getting all the way to Killarney could take a while. So she quickly said goodbye to everybody and drove off with six people waving after her wondering what it would be like when she got back in two weeks…

On Killarney Alex was getting everything ready for the arrival of Claire, Charlotte and Emily. He had told Jodi that Charlotte would be coming today but his sister-in-law had agreed that he would bring her round to Drovers on Saturday. Alex had insisted that he wanted to have the girl to himself for at least one more evening…always thinking about how risky it was to have Claire and Emily on Killarney with nobody knowing they even existed. Jodi hadn't been overly happy about his request but had agreed in the end. Alex had to smile at the thought that she would probably get the shock of her life on Saturday…

At Westminster College both Charlotte and Emily were getting really excited about their Easter holiday at Killarney. Charlotte was happy to see her Aunt Jodi again and her mother Meg and step-father Terry and Emily couldn't wait to meet them. Peggie and Babette had already left for home the day before so the two sisters were alone in the suite anxiously waiting for their mother.

"What time is it?" Emily asked her older sister who was sitting on the sofa in the lounge room, her packed bag next to her.

"Two minutes since you last asked…" Charlotte said and rolled her eyes. She was excited too about spending two weeks with her Mum and Alex but her sister was almost exploding.

"Where is she? She said she'd be here by ten…and now it's what? Quarter past? She's never late!"

"Calm down Em! She's only 15 minutes late…we'll get to Killarney soon enough!"

Five minutes later Claire finally walked through the door to the girls' room. Charlotte was the first to see her and she jumped up to hug her mother. Soon Claire had both girls around her neck and laughed "Take it you two have missed me!"

"Of course we have!" The girls responded almost in unison and Claire laughed even harder.

"Ok, let's get going then…you have everything packed?"

"Yup, we've been ready for about an hour…and Emily's been driving me crazy with her impatience…" Charlotte said and once again rolled her eyes as she walked back to the sofa to pick up her things.

"Well…you were driving me nuts last night so it's only payback…" Emily said to defend herself and Claire smiled at her two daughters. They really sounded like sisters…which left Claire wondering once again what her relationship to her sisters would be like once they found out about her.

Claire had been right, the streets were packed with cars and it took them a while to get to Fisher. But once they had left the city behind them and were out in the countryside it got better and they didn't lose any more time.

When they finally arrived on Killarney Claire was glad that they'd made it and that they had run into nobody that was supposed to know her when the girls had demanded a loo break in Gungellan. Claire had been wise enough to stay in the car to take no risk but now it was her desperately needing a toilet…

So once she stopped her car she jumped out and ran towards the house, passing Alex on the way only shouting a short "Hi!" before she entered the house and ran to the nearest toilet…

Alex stood outside a little confused and looked after Claire before shaking his head and turning towards his daughters "What's gotten into her?"  
"Loo…" was all Emily said before she went to hug her father, shortly after followed by Charlotte.

"Oh…and why aren't you two running after her?"  
"Because we went in Gungellan…but Mum didn't want to leave the car in case somebody might recognize her…"  
"I see…well…shall we get inside so Charlotte can inspect her room?"

The girl heavily nodded. Alex knew that Emily had already told her what it looked like but was sure she couldn't wait to see it herself.

Once inside the house they met Claire who was just leaving the bathroom…visibly relieved. They all went upstairs together so Claire could claim her room and the girls theirs.

When Charlotte went towards her room she immediately saw the sign Emily had made for it and her face lit up. She had wanted to ask her sister for a sign like she had made for Alex and her mother but hadn't really known how. And there it was…at the door to her room.

"Wow Em…when did you make that?"

"When I was here two weeks ago…you like it?"  
"You know I do! Thanks!" The sisters hugged and then it was time for Charlotte to open the door.

The room looked even better than she had imagined after what Emily had told her. The exact image of her sister's room with a few additions and in a different colour…all red, orange and yellow. Charlotte was speechless…she had never had a room she had liked so much. The one at her Dad's house was still kind of a kid's room because she never really spent much time there since she had started boarding school and the one on Drovers was still the way it had been the last time she was there. This was the first room that looked like a room for a grown up…

"Thanks Alex…I love it!" she finally said trying to blink away the tears in her eyes and went to hug her uncle.

Then Claire and Alex left the two girls alone so she could unpack her own things while Emily showed Charlotte around her room and they unpacked theirs.

After their mother was gone Charlotte turned to her sister "Ok…we gotta do the unpacking real quick and then get the dinner started…you can show me around my room tonight while Alex and Mum are out having dinner…"

15 minutes later the girls told Claire and Alex they would now be looking for Rhonda to help her with the dinner preparations. They saw the confused looks on the faces of the two grown ups but didn't hear any protest so they just told them to sit back and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

"Rhonda?" Emily shouted as she crossed the corner into the kitchen.

"Ah…my two conspirators are here…" the older woman said from the kitchen table where she had been reading the newspaper. She looked on her watch "We still have some time left before we need to start. I've got Nat in on our little project…he will drive you and the food out to the dam later. Have a look in the bottom drawer of the cupboard over there…I've put some things in there you might find helpful." With that Rhonda turned back to her newspaper and the girls went over to the cupboard. Inside the drawer they found a blanket and some torches.

"Thanks Rhonda! That's just perfect! And thanks for telling Nat…I was wondering how we were gonna get everything out there since Charlotte's not allowed to ride alone…" Emily said and went to give Rhonda a hug while Charlotte closed the drawer.

"When do we start then?" the older girl asked. She knew she would only be the little helper here since she had little to no cooking experience.

Rhonda looked on her watch and smiled. "You can start right now by cutting those tomatoes there in the sink…"

A little over four hours later Alex was just showing Claire the latest stock info when Rhonda walked into the study handing them both an envelope.

"I'm only the messenger and was told to tell you to simply follow the orders…and with that I'm off…" she said and turned around and left the room.

Alex looked at Claire but she looked as surprised as he felt.

"Do you know what this is all about?"  
"No…but I find it very suspicious that I have seen neither Charlotte nor Emily in a couple of hours…maybe we should open our envelopes…"

Inside they each found a note…Claire's was written in Charlotte's handwriting, Alex's in Emily's but the message was the same on both…Follow the map and we'll meet you for dinner at the dam.

Alex looked at Claire again who was rubbing her chin still looking at the note. "This is even stranger…but it seems if we want something to eat we'll have to follow the orders…as Rhonda put it…"

Claire laughed and followed Alex outside.

"Horses or Ute?" he asked her.

Claire quickly thought and replied "Horses…if I have to eat out in the wilderness somewhere I want to enjoy the way to get there…I really wonder what those two are up to…"

So Claire and Alex saddled up the horses and got themselves on the way to the dam, Claire on the same horse she had had last time she was on Killarney.

When they got closer to their destination it was already starting to get dark and Alex could see some light close to the water. The closer they got the more he saw…there was a huge blanket on the ground filled up with all kinds of food and drinks, a torch placed at each corner of the blanket. The girls were nowhere in sight.

Alex smiled at Claire and the look on her face told him she knew as well as him now what exactly the girls were up to.

"Looks like we've been stood up by a bunch of girls not even teenagers…" he said with a wink "Fancy a nice dinner alone with me, P?"

Claire laughed and nodded. "Yeah, why not? Since we're out here and there's tons of food waiting for us…wonder how they got it all out here…"

"Must have had help! Get down…I'm starving…" Alex said, dismounted and walked towards the blanket shortly followed by Claire laughing loud and saying "Should have known food is all you think about…"

All that was observed from a safe distance by two girls and a man. When Charlotte and Emily heard the laughter from their mother they knew that they wouldn't be in too deep trouble when the two adults got home and Charlotte said to Nat "Think we can go now and leave them alone…" then she smiled at her sister. Their plan seemed to work…


	41. Chapter 41

**41**

Claire and Alex heard the sound of a car being started and looked at each other smiling.

"Guess we're alone now…" Alex said with a wink. "I knew they would wait somewhere and see if we actually got here…Righto…let's see what we got here!"

He opened a couple of the boxes and found cold chicken wings, sliced up roast beef, bread, different salads and even some cake. "Wow, they really outdid themselves! So…what do you want P?"

Claire had to laugh "Why are you still calling me P? I'm trying to get used to being called Claire now…"

"I like it…kind of a special name for you. And you're doing fine being Claire again! Although I can't imagine what it would be like if somebody walked up to me and told me I was…George and not Alex…"

"George, eh? Maybe I should call you that from now on…to give you a feeling!" Claire chuckled "George Ryan…doesn't sound too bad…come on…let's eat before the food gets warm…did they leave any beer in that cooler?"

Alex had a look but only found a bottle of champagne and some water. "Nope, sorry. You'll have to live on water or the bubbly stuff…" He held the champus up. "They even left us glasses…"

"I hope they did! I'm not drinking champagne out of the bottle!"

"Ok, here we go then!" Alex opened the bottle and filled a glass with the bubbly liquid and handed it to Claire. Then he filled one for himself and raised the glass to toast to Claire before he let it down again.

"Any idea what we can toast to?"

Claire laughed "How about the girls? Think they deserve a toast for all the effort they took today…"

"To Charlotte and Emily it is then!" Alex raised his glass again and then took a sip and smirked. "Although they could have left us some beer…"

While Claire and Alex were out having a picnic at the dam Charlotte and Emily were at the homestead playing board games with Rhonda. All three of them had already eaten while cooking and Rhonda had declared herself the babysitter till the girls' parents came back.

She had listened to the excited report of Emily telling her how they had seen Claire and Alex laugh together and sit down on the blanket. Although she was not really the nosy type of person Rhonda would have liked to see that.

Ever since Alex had cut every contact to his mother he had treated Rhonda more like a mother than anything else. And Rhonda had always loved Alex and his brother Nick. It had been hard for her to see Nick leave for Argentina and whenever he came back he spent more time on Drovers Run or Wilgul than on Killarney.

But the hardest thing for her had been having to watch Alex suffer after Claire's accident when he had thought he lost her forever. When he had married Fiona all those years back she had thought he had finally moved on and could live a happy life now with a new wife and maybe some kids but things had turned out differently.

Fiona wasn't the person she seemed to be and while Rhonda had always kept quiet about what she saw and heard it was usually her that Alex turned to when he had had yet another fight with his wife. As soon as Rhonda knew that Fiona was infertile she knew that their marriage wouldn't last…Alex had always wanted a huge family that Fiona couldn't give him. She had even made him choose between her and Charlotte.

Back then Rhonda had hoped Alex would pick the little girl that she loved like it was her own grandchild. Rhonda had never been married and had no kids so Charlotte was as close to a granddaughter she would get. Especially since the child didn't have any other grandparents. But Alex had picked Fiona and Charlotte had never come back till only recently.

And now she was sitting here with her…and with Alex's daughter. And Claire was back and she and Alex had another chance…

"Hello? Are you in there somewhere Rhonda? It's your turn!" Charlotte got her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about Claire and Alex…it's getting cold out there. We should have maybe left them a couple more blankets…"

"They were both wearing jackets…they should be fine…and they won't stay out forever, will they? Now stay focussed on the game or Emily's gonna cheat again!"

"I'm NOT cheating!"

At the dam Claire and Alex had just finished their dinner and Claire was now slicing up the chocolate cake that looked like Emily had made it. It was now completely dark and the only light they had were the four torches. Alex had laid back on the blanket and was looking in the sky where the first stars appeared. Claire handed him a piece of the cake and he sat up again.

"Thanks…isn't this a really beautiful night?"

"Yeah…it is. Though I have to admit that I'm starting to get cold…we're definitely heading towards winter…" Claire shuddered a little.

Alex put his plate with the cake down and unzipped his jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you my jacket…it's warmer than yours…"

"But you'll freeze Alex. Put it back on, I'll be fine!"

"No discussions…" Alex said and placed his jacket round Claire's shoulders while moving closer to her. She gave him a thankful but worried look.

"Are you sure you'll be all right? We could always get back…"

"I'm fine and I don't really want to go back…"

"Good…because I don't wanna leave either…I wish the world would just stop now…"

Claire only realized she had said the last sentence out loud when Alex asked her "Nervous about tomorrow?"

She looked at him putting the last bits of his chocolate cake into his mouth and getting another piece.

"Yeah, I am nervous…I'm about to tell my sister, that I have never met as far as my memory's concerned and that thinks I've been dead for 12 years that I am very much alive. And that I've known for 6 weeks and didn't tell her. How will she like that?"

"Stop worrying Claire! Jodi will be thrilled to see you! And she wasn't here or I'm sure you would have told her right away. This is not a thing you just tell on the phone while talking about other things…'Oh, by the way Jodi…your dead sister is sitting next to me!'…it's bad enough we have to do that with Tess…"

"I know Alex, but I still feel guilty…And what about Charlotte's father? How will he react? From what you and Charlotte told me about him I'm not having a good feeling about telling him. But we still have to do it."

"Calm down Claire…" Alex said moving closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "Everything will be all right! Leave Peter to me and Tess to Jodi…you won't have to make any phone calls. All you have to do is come to Drovers with me tomorrow morning. I'll take care of the rest. I once promised you that I'll always be there for you and even though you can't remember that now that promise still stands."

All the emotions that were hidden deep down inside of her now welled up to the surface and Claire felt tears running down her cheeks. She had never had so many different feelings storm onto her at the same time.

She felt happy that she had finally found out who she was, scared about what her future life would bring for her, excited about the fact that she had a second daughter, sad that she had missed all of that daughters life, frustrated that she couldn't get her memory to return and finally confused about her feelings towards Alex…because right here right now she felt safe but she still couldn't place her feelings towards him.

He had become a really good friend in the short time of only six weeks and she already knew she could always count on him. But there was also the fact that Alex made her heart beat faster every time she saw him. She couldn't say she loved him…not after only six weeks she had known him. But there was something about him that attracted her…and that attraction scared her…

Alex saw the tears running down Claire's face and couldn't help but pull her closer to him. He could only imagine all the different feelings inside her with everything that had happened in the past few weeks. She had had a happy life with her daughter and her friends and now everything was turned upside down and inside out. And above all she had to get back into a life she couldn't even remember.

"Sshh…it's all right Claire…just let it out and you'll feel better. And you'll see…after tomorrow some of your worries will disappear into thin air…"

She sobbed even harder and Alex pulled her even closer. All his life he had felt the need to protect her and this situation was no different. Only he couldn't really do anything because he couldn't take the feelings inside her away. All he could do was hold her and be there for her…and try to keep his own emotions under control.

Because as much as he wanted to only see a friend in Claire it didn't quite work. Yes, they had developed a friendship similar to the one they had had all their life till the accident. But getting to know her again had shown him that even though she had no memory of her past deep down inside she was still the old Claire that he had spent nearly his whole life with and that he had loved like no other person in this world…and those feelings were still there.

They were different now because Claire was different, a little less hard and showing more emotions that she would ever have in her former life. But if he was honest with himself…he had fallen in love with her all over again and it nearly killed him that he couldn't tell her. But she had enough to deal with right now…she didn't need any other complications…

When he felt her sobs stopping her pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and moved Claire a bit away from him. Instead of handing the handkerchief to her so she could do it herself he started wiping the tears away from her face and amazingly enough she let it happen.

"Feel better?"

"A little…"

He went on wiping her tears away and when Claire's face was fairly dry he put the handkerchief back into his pocket all the while still holding her tight. Claire rested her head on his shoulder and sighed deeply.

They sat like that for a while…till Claire lifted her head and looked deep in Alex's eyes.

"Thank you Alex…I really don't know what I would do without you…"

Alex had to swallow at the look she gave him…her clear, blue eyes that he could see even though they only had the torches giving them light made his heart melt…like they always had.

They looked in each others eyes in silence till Alex just couldn't hold himself back anymore. He lifted one of his hands, put a wisp of Claire's hair behind her ear and rested his hand on her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb while he lowered his head towards her till their lips touched in a gentle kiss…


	42. Chapter 42

42

When Claire felt Alex's lips on hers it was like her mind suddenly stopped and all she could do was feel. His lips on hers…her pounding heart…his warm breath washing over her face…the warm feeling that made itself room inside her body…his hands on her face…

Claire closed her eyes and the whole world seemed to fade away and all that mattered was the man opposite of her.

She responded to the kiss instinctively but before she even knew it, it was over and she slowly found her way back into reality.

Still too emotionally whirled up Claire didn't really know what to do so she just rested her head against Alex's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her and just held her tight.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that but when she felt Alex shiver ever so slightly she knew it was time to get back. Alex was probably freezing without his jacket and she was getting colder by the minute, too.

So Claire broke their intimate moment by whispering "We should get back" and lifting her head to see his face.

Alex only nodded but held onto her not wanting to let go it seemed. He looked her deep in the eyes and Claire got lost once more…

"You all right?" Alex asked her and now it was Claire who could only nod. "Then let's pack those things together and get home…" He let go of her and got up.

They packed everything together and even managed to store it on their horses. After putting out the torches they mounted and rode back to Killarney in silence, neither of them knowing what to say and not really wanting to break their special moment.

When they reached the stables and unsaddled the horses it was Alex who finally couldn't bare it anymore and spoke up "Claire…about the kiss…"

But Claire interrupted him "Don't you dare say you're sorry Alex Ryan…because I'm not…"

Alex was surprised. He hadn't expected that. So all he said was "Oh…"

"It was a sweet kiss and I can tell it came from your heart…" Since when was Claire McLeod so insightful? "I enjoyed it…really…but I also hope you understand that I can't really go there at the moment…there's too much to sort out in my life…it would just make things even more complicated and I don't know if I can deal with that…"

The more Claire talked the more Alex could see her insecurity and he felt sorry he had kissed her. Like Claire he had enjoyed to be able to kiss her again…but he knew right afterwards that it had been a mistake because the time was just not right for her. He couldn't really regret doing it, he still loved her too much for that, but he knew in his mind that it had been a mistake.

So to calm his guilty conscience and her worried mind down he said "It's ok Claire…I know what you mean…I knew that right after I let go of you…and I'm not sorry either. It's just not the right time…but I hope you understand that I can't just forget it happened. We'll have to talk about that one day…but I'll wait till you have your life sorted again and feel up to it…can we agree on that?"

Alex saw that Claire had a few tears in her eyes as she slowly nodded and then whispered "Thank you…" with a slight sigh of relief.

They went on taking care of the horses in silence till Alex said "Hey…we haven't discussed yet what we'll do with the girls for trying to set us up…Are we happy or upset about it?"

Claire had to smile at Alex's last comment but also knew they needed to talk to Charlotte and Emily about it. Otherwise the girls would probably go on and try more things like that in the next two weeks and that was something Claire really didn't need right now.

So she carefully said "Think we can tell them we liked it but it won't change anything at this point…I really don't want them doing it again at the moment."

"Neither do I…Maybe we could tell them the truth…that it's just not the right time. Do you think they'd understand?"

"Well, we could give it a try…I don't have any other idea anyway…"

"Ok, that's settled then…let's hope it works!"

Inside the house Claire and Alex were awaited by two very nervous girls. Charlotte and Emily had thought they would be back by now and were sitting in the living room, Charlotte looking on her watch every five minutes.

"It's a good sign they're not back yet, isn't it?" the older girl asked her sister. "I mean if they were back early it would mean they didn't like it, right?"

"I don't know…they could also be talking about how to punish us again…" Emily pointed out "Believe me, Mum's good at those things…I really hope they had fun or else we're in real trouble…"

"Who says you're not in trouble anyway?"

"Dad!" Emily's heart nearly stopped when she heard her father's voice behind her. The two sisters had been so involved with their thoughts that they hadn't heard Claire and Alex come back.

Both girls turned around to have a look at their parents' faces to figure out what they thought. But the looks of Claire and Alex didn't promise anything good. They looked too serious for that.

Emily leaned over to her sister and whispered "That's not good…" and Charlotte agreed with a nod. Before her parents could say anything Emily decided to take matters in her own hands and apologize.

"Mum, Dad…I'm really sorry we stood you up…I mean…we never intended to be there in the first place…"

Then Charlotte jumped in helping her sister "We just thought you two might enjoy a nice evening alone before…you know…the big storm…"

"And there were no thoughts of getting your mother and I together in your plans?" Alex asked.

"Well…" Charlotte looked at her sister than back at Claire and Alex "Maybe…but we just thought…" she looked at Emily for help

"You seem to get along so well…and we just thought we could be a real family if you…you know…"

"Got married?" Claire asked "It doesn't work that way Emily. There's lot more involved in that than just a dinner…"

"Are you mad at us?" Charlotte wanted to know.

"No, we're not" Claire replied "We did actually have a nice evening but that's it…I hope you can understand that I have too much going on in my life at the moment to even think about getting married or falling in love. And even if Alex and I are not together the way you two hope…we're still a family somehow. So I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't try something like that again."

"Of course you can always plan another family picnic…" Alex added "But this time with the whole family, not just Claire and me…"

During the speech of their mother both girls had lowered their heads and now felt really guilty for trying to set Claire and Alex up.

To their surprise Claire then said "Enough of that now…how did you two manage to get all the food out there?"

After everybody had gone to bed that night Charlotte heard a knock on her door shortly after followed by the face of her younger sister sneaking through the now open door.

"Char? You still awake?" she heard Emily whisper.

"Yeah…thought you'd never come!"

The younger girl quickly closed the door behind her and sat down on her sister's bed while Charlotte switched on the small light on her bedside table.

"Sorry…I wanted to make sure Mum and Dad were asleep…Not sure about Mum now but I can hear Alex snoring so I guess he's sleeping. Now...what do you think of this evening?"

Charlotte sighed "Didn't quite go as we expected, huh? It wasn't all bad though, I'm glad they're not mad at us…too bad it didn't work out. But we're not giving up just yet, are we?"

"No way! But the problem is…we'll have to be even more careful now after what Mum said today about not interfering anymore…if she finds out we're still trying to get her and Dad together we're in deep trouble…trust me, I know!"

Emily's last comment once again reminded Charlotte of the fact that she still didn't really know her mother very well despite the weekend they spent together. There was so much she still didn't know about her mother's life in the past twelve years and how she would react in certain situations.

She hoped that would change during the Easter holidays…because with her Dad constantly being away on a business trip – this year even more than last year – Charlotte knew if she ever wanted to have a "normal" family again she would have to count on Claire and Alex and Emily.

Sure, she loved Alana and Natalie but they had their own lives and sure didn't want a twelve year old baby sister around them. With Emily SHE was the older one and could tell her what to do…

She hadn't told Emily yet and still didn't intend to do so in the near future but if they really got Claire and Alex together Charlotte wanted to ask her father if she could permanently live with them and only visit him occasionally…not the other way around. She liked Killarney a great deal better than her father's house…there was much more to explore here.

Charlotte didn't know how her Dad would react to that request though…especially since he didn't even know yet that Claire was still alive. The whole thought was more of a long term plan…which was the reason why she hadn't even told Emily about it yet. When the time was right she would…

With a sigh Charlotte said "We'll have to think of something else than romantic dinners…something where we're with them so the won't get suspicious but can still be alone…"

"Any idea yet?"

"Not even a single thought…this is gonna be hard work…and sadly won't happen over night or in the near future…"

Charlotte yawned and so did Emily shortly after.

"You wanna stay here tonight?"

Emily smiled and nodded happily and Charlotte slightly lifted her duvet so her sister could slip under it.

"You know Charlotte…I'm really glad you're my sister now…"

"Yeah…me too Em…"

Both girls yawned again…the day in the kitchen had really worn them out. They went on talking about school and other things before they drifted off to sleep with their arms round each other.

A few doors down the hallway Claire was wide awake. Her emotions had gotten the better of her again and she doubted she would find any sleep that night. There were just way too many things running through her head.

First of all…the kiss! She would have never thought she'd kiss somebody after only knowing him for 6 weeks! That was absolutely not like her. Ok, the kiss had been short but still…she could count the times she had kissed a man in the last twelve years on one hand.

Being a single working mother didn't exactly attract men…and even if it would have, Claire would have been too busy with raising her daughter and working on a farm at the same time. Plus she hadn't wanted men to jump in and out of Emily's life when she couldn't even tell the girl who her father was.

But now it was just that father that caused all those mixed feelings inside her that she really didn't need right now. She had enough to deal with…

Which was the second grand thought on her mind…how would her family react to seeing her again after believing she was dead for twelve years?

She knew Alex had said they would probably be shocked but totally thrilled…but she was still scared to death. What if they expected too much of her? She couldn't remember any of them…what if they wanted everything to be like it was before the accident? Because that was something she couldn't give them.

She was a different person now and had led her own life for the past twelve years, made her own decisions, she couldn't just let that go and forget about it. And how would they react to Emily? And how would Emily react to them? She had an uncle, two aunts and two cousins she had never met and that knew nothing about her.

Thinking of her daughters Claire couldn't help but smile. She had heard doors open and close again a while ago and was sure one of the girls had snuck into the other's room. Now they were probably talking about their failed plan to get her and Alex together. She could hear their voices through the closed doors…

Claire shifted in her bed to a more comfortable position and tried to stop her mind from thinking too much by concentrating on the sounds around her…her daughters voices…the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the hallway downstairs…Alex's snoring…the sounds of the night that came through her open window…

Finally her lids got heavy and she fell into a deep sleep dreaming about how her world would change the next day…


	43. Chapter 43

_I'm really sorry it took me so long to update this...especially since the part was written such a long time ago...but I guess life just got in the way..._

_But...I'm back now with a new part and I promise the next one won't be too long either...so...enjoy your read!_

* * *

The next morning Claire was woken up by a soft knock on the door and the smell of breakfast. She sat up in bed and saw Charlotte, Emily and Alex entering her room, still in their pyjamas, each carrying a tray with food.

"What's that about?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"Well…we thought you might wanna have breakfast in bed since you normally don't get that…" Emily said, then Charlotte continued "And since we didn't want to leave you alone we brought our breakfast as well…"

Finally Alex added with a worried look "Hope that's ok?"

Claire looked at him and smiled. "Sure…thank you! But are you sure we have enough food? I know you and Em!"

Alex laughed "My tray's still waiting in the kitchen…I'd starve if we only had what's on here!"

So he left and came back a couple minutes later with another tray filled with food. He placed himself against the headboard because the girls were sitting against the footboard, each already busy with their breakfast.

"So…" Charlotte said still chewing "when are we heading over to Drovers? I can't wait to see Aunty Jodi and Meg!"

Claire had had her nervousness under control till her daughter made that remark. Now all her fears that she had had last night were back and she turned pale and her hand started shaking so she had to put her mug down.

"I'm sorry Mum…I didn't think…" Charlotte looked concerned.

Claire took a few deep breathes till she felt her nervousness get less then she assured her daughter that she was fine.

Trying to be light about the situation she added "Let's eat before it gets too cold and then we should get ourselves ready…Although probably neither Em nor Alex care if the food's cold! Anyway…hurry up! The sooner I get it over with the sooner I'm normal again…"

1 ½ hours later Claire's confidence was gone again. Alex could see her shaking in the car seat next to him. They had juts stopped the car on Drovers. The girls didn't quite seem to notice because they were chatting in the backseat. Charlotte was just telling her sister everything she knew about the farm and her cool Aunty Jodi.

Although he wasn't sure how Claire would react Alex took her hand and squeezed it. To his surprise Claire didn't pull her hand away. She looked him in the eyes and said "Thanks Alex…"

He gave her a knowing smile and then said "Charlotte and I better go inside before somebody comes looking for us and sees you here…you and Emily follow in 5 minutes. You remember how to get to the veranda?"

Claire nodded "Yeah, from last time…"

"And I hope you can keep your mouth shut about your Mum Charlotte…" Alex said with a warning look in the rear view mirror.

"I'm not Emily…" Charlotte chuckled but got a slap on the arm from her sister.

"Righto…let's go then…"

Alex and Charlotte got out of the car and walked towards the house arm in arm. They entered the kitchen but found it surprisingly empty. Alex would have expected to find at least Meg in there. Jodi knew he was coming with Charlotte so he was sure she hadn't gone out with the hands.

So he went into the hallway and shouted for her...and got an answer from the study. Alex didn't even have time to think before Charlotte ran past him towards the room.

"I guess somebody really missed her Aunt…" he told himself with a smile and followed his niece.

When he walked through the door Charlotte was already hanging around Jodi's neck, leaving her Aunt in charge of keeping the balance.

"Slow down Char and let Jodi breathe!" Alex said with a smile. "How are you today Jode?"

"Fine now that Charlotte's here…come on squirt, let go of me so I can have a proper look at you. Wow, you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you! And you look just like your Mum…"

The mentioning of Claire reminded Alex of why they were here. He needed to tell Jodi quickly…it was too risky to have Claire and Emily sitting in the car where somebody could find them.

"Jodi, can we go outside for a sec? There's something I need to tell you…where's Meg? It's something she should hear, too…"

"Veggie patch…I think! Shall we wait for her?"

Alex looked at Charlotte and saw that she could barely keep her mouth shut now. So he said "No…she'll find out soon enough…"

Little did he know that Meg was already on her way to do just that…

While Alex and Charlotte walked towards the house Emily got out of the car and slipped on the driver's seat next to her mother. She could see the nervous look on Claire's face and when she took her hand she felt the cold sweat.

"It's gonna be ok, Mum…Dad will make sure of that…" she said and moved as close to her mother as she could and hugged her.

"I know honey…but it's hard anyway…" Claire said and for once Emily didn't mind her mother calling her honey. "Are you excited about meeting your Aunt?" Claire then asked her and Emily nodded with a huge smile.

"Yeah, I am. I've never had an Aunt before…I mean, I know I have Aunty Laura but she's not my real Aunt…"

"I know and I'm really happy for you…" Just then Emily looked out the window and saw a woman about the age of her Aunty Laura walk up to the car. She gave her mother a nudge and pointed in the direction of the woman with her head.

"Oh no…not again…" was all she heard her mother say.

Meg was just coming back from the stables when she saw an unfamiliar car. She knew Alex had wanted to come around and bring Charlotte with him but the car didn't look like one Alex would buy. It was a little too old for that. And what would he need a car for that was not even close to a Ute?

So Meg decided to approach the car when she saw two figures inside it, one obviously smaller than the other. 'Strange…' she thought to herself. Why would somebody wait out here in the car instead of going inside?

The sun was shining bright on the car windows so she couldn't see the faces of the people inside. She went to knock on the window at the passenger seat when the door opened and a woman emerged the car…

'No…this can't be…' Meg told herself but had to grab the door and she closed her eyes to not break down right then and there. What was this supposed to mean?

"Hi Meg…" the woman said and put a hand on hers "Are you all right?"

Meg slowly opened her eyes again…Yes, the woman still had the same face…and that voice… "Claire?" she carefully asked but her voice broke.

"Yes, I am Claire…but why don't you sit down…you really don't look too good…"

Then Meg felt herself being seated on the passenger seat, her heart racing.

"Emily, do you think you could go inside and find Alex and tell him we have a problem?"

"Ok Mum…" Meg heard a girl's voice from behind her but didn't feel strong enough to turn around. Then she heard a door being opened and closed again shortly followed by the shout to bring a glass of water with them.

Claire got down on her knees in front of Meg and sighed. This was not how she had intended the woman to find out. She had recognized her as soon as Emily had given her the nudge…Alex had shown her enough pictures of the woman. Now Meg was sitting in front of her, totally in shock as it seemed.

"Meg?" Claire once again tried to get through to her and this time she seemed to be successful.

"Why are you here Claire? You're dead…"

"No…I'm not dead. But it's a long story and I don't think this is the right place to tell…why don't we go inside where you can lie down and have something to drink…"

She saw Meg nod and slowly get up, her knees still shaking. So Claire put her arm around Meg's waist and they slowly walked to the house together…

On the veranda Alex was just trying to tell Jodi about Claire when he heard the voice of his daughter shouting for him.

"Dad! Where are you? Mum told me to come and get you…we have a problem!"

Then the tall figure of Emily appeared around the corner and Alex could see Jodi's confused look.

"Shit…" Alex mumbled and then turned to his daughter "Slow down and tell me what happened…"

Emily took a few deep breaths and then said "Somebody saw us in the car and…she nearly fainted Dad! Mum told me to bring some water…"

"Who saw you Shorty?"

"I don't know…I think it's Meg…but I'm not sure…you have to come Dad…NOW!"

This was not good. From what he had gathered from his daughter's words Meg had found Claire and Emily in the car and was now in shock. And he hadn't even told Jodi yet!

"Ok, I'm coming…" then he turned to Charlotte and said "And you make sure Jodi stays here…I can't have another woman faint, one's enough! Come on Em…"

With that Alex got up and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water as Claire had ordered, Emily at his heals.

Half way out to the car he saw Claire with her arm around Meg walking towards the house. The older woman looked shattered.

"We need to get her inside Alex…she's not really doing well…" Claire told him and Alex nodded.

He got on the other side of Meg and together they took her into the kitchen and placed her in one of the chairs. He handed the older woman the glass of water he was still holding and slowly the colour returned to her face and she looked at him.

"What is this all about Alex? How can Claire be here?"

"I think it's best we get Jodi here…saves us from explaining it twice. I'll go and get her…you stay here with Claire Meg…ok?"

On the veranda Jodi was looking at Charlotte to get some information out of her. What was all this fuss about? And who the hell had her mother seen that she was so shocked now? And who was that girl that obviously seemed to call Alex Dad?

"Charlotte…what is this all about? And don't tell me you don't know!" Jodi tried.

"I'm sorry Aunty Jodi…I'm not supposed to tell you…Alex wanted to do that himself…and I wouldn't even know what to tell you…"

"Oh no, Charlotte McLeod! You're not getting that past me! I wanna know what happened to my mother NOW! And if you don't tell me I will get up and find out myself…" Jodi was about to get up from the bench she was sitting on when she felt Charlotte's hand on her arm

"Please Aunty Jodi…stay here and wait for Alex! I would only get everything wrong and it'll make things worse! PLEASE!"

"Is it that bad?"

"It's not bad…just very complicated and Alex can really explain it better…"

"Ok, I'll stay! But tell me…who is that girl that called Alex Dad? I didn't know he had a daughter! Tell me at least something Charlotte or I'll go nuts here!"

Just then Alex walked back out on the veranda through the dining room door.

"You should know better than to put pressure on a twelve year old Jodi!"

"But nobody tells me anything! What is this all about Alex?"

"Come on, I'll show you…I've brought some surprise visitors…"

Together the three of them walked towards the kitchen and once they walked through the door Jodi felt Alex put his hands on her shoulders. She just wanted to ask him what he was doing that for when she saw the woman that had been standing at the sink turn around…

'Claire…' were her last thoughts before she fainted into Alex's arms…

* * *

_Sorry about the little cliffie...they are too good to resist...but the next part should be up some time next week so you don't have to wait too long..._

_In the mean time...leave me a comment...much appreciated..._


	44. Chapter 44

_A/N: Well...exams are finally over and I have time to post again to not leave you waiting any longer...would have posted yesterday but you can blame Kathy Reichs for writing such good novels that I didn't... ;-)_

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**44**

Jodi felt something cold and wet in her face and her head was spinning…

"Stop watering me…I'm not a flower…" she mumbled and tried to get up "What happened?"

"Think she's with us again…" she heard Alex say and replied "Why shouldn't I?" before it dawned on her again.

She had just walked in the kitchen at Drovers and had seen Claire standing at the sink. Had it been an illusion?

Jodi looked up…no, she was still there. This time Jodi was prepared to see her so she could hold it together and ask "Is that you Claire? What are you doing here? You're dead!"

She heard everybody in the kitchen chuckle and then Alex said "Apparently she's not…that's what I was trying to tell you before Emily came running in to tell me Meg found them in the car…why don't you sit down and Claire and I tell you what's happened…"

Jodi could only nod in amazement, then Alex helped her get up and placed her on a chair opposite of her mother.

"Well…I'm listening! And this better be good or I'm going to kill you both!"

"be quiet and let them explain Jodi…" Meg told her daughter "I'm sure Claire has a good reason why she wasn't with us those 12 years…haven't you?" Meg looked at Claire.

But instead of her Alex answered "She does…but it's complicated…so just be quiet and listen, ok?"

Claire was glad Alex took the lead in telling her story…now that both Jodi and Meg were sitting here in the kitchen of her former home and had come over their initial shock of seeing her, Claire's nervousness had returned.

The look Meg had just given her had told her that she really was expecting a good explanation and Claire could only hope that what they could tell her and Jodi would be enough.

It was a weird feeling for her hearing the story of her life being told to two people she had only met a few minutes ago. She knew they were her sister and practically mother…but still they were strangers to her.

"It all started for Claire and me when Charlotte and Emily here ran away from school 6 weeks ago…" Alex started and in the next hour told Meg and Jodi everything that had happened since then.

Claire would add a few things he didn't know, especially about her life since the accident, but for the most part Alex talked and she was glad about it. She knew she couldn't have done it…

When he finished with the words "That's it…what do you say?" she looked at the two women and waited for their answer.

At first neither Jodi nor Meg said something then the younger woman carefully asked "And you really don't remember anything?"

Claire took a deep breath and shook her head. "No…sorry. I know who you are from pictures and from what Alex told me but I can't remember anything. Sometimes I get a feeling that something is familiar but when I try to concentrate on it it's gone…everything's just a big blur when it comes to memories that are older than 12 years…sorry…"

"It's not your fault Claire…it was an accident…" Meg then said and gave her a smile. Then she turned around and looked at Emily who had been standing behind the older woman all the time, leaned against the stove with her sister. "You must be Emily then…nice to meet you. I'm Meg…Jodi's Mum…" Meg said and then held out her hand for the girl to shake it.

Emily gave her a huge smile and gladly shook Meg's hand. "Nice to meet you Meg…yes, I'm Emily…"

"How old are you dear?"

Alex had told Meg and Jodi that Emily was Claire's daughter but he hadn't told them yet that she was his daughter as well.

"Umm, I'm eleven…" the girl shyly said and looked at her mother.

"Eleven…you're tall for eleven!" Jodi shouted out. "I'm your Aunt Jodi by the way…oh…" suddenly the young woman remembered something and turned to Alex "Does Claire know I'm her sister?"

Alex laughed "Well…if she hadn't known she sure would now! But yeah, I told her that you found out you were Jack's daughter while she was away. She doesn't remember you anyway so there was no harm…I guess."

"Oh good!" Jodi then said and got up "Because I can give her a proper sister hug then…if she wants to that is…"

Claire felt a little uncomfortable hugging a stranger but got herself together and nodded. This was her sister and she had to get used to it. So she opened her arms and Jodi embraced her tightly. Then she let go and said "I still can't believe you're here…it's like all my wishes have suddenly become reality…ok, maybe not all but at least some…" she smiled at Claire "Welcome home!"

"Thank you Jodi…" Claire replied with a shy smile. All this was a little overwhelming for her.

Meg must have seen the feared look in Claire's eyes because she said "I'll leave the hug for some other time if that's all right…" and Claire thankfully nodded.

"Now…I've just done some maths here…is it safe to say congratulations to you Alex for having a daughter?"

Alex now had the biggest grin on his face "Sure is, Meg…isn't she just a great child?"

Everybody agreed while Emily turned slightly red.

Then Meg said she hoped they would all stay for lunch and after some protests of Claire she finally agreed under the condition that she would help…which got her a confused look from both Jodi and Meg…and made Alex laugh

"Yes…Claire McLeod can cook now! And not bad I have to say…"

So he shoved the girls and Jodi out of the kitchen and left Claire and Meg to prepare lunch.

As soon as Alex left the kitchen with Jodi and the girls Charlotte asked him if she could show Emily around the homestead. Alex agreed but told them to stay close to the house. With rolling eyes the girls promised to not go too far away and off they went while Alex and Jodi sat down on the veranda.

"So…Alex Ryan is finally a Dad…what does it feel like?" Jodi said and playfully nudged him.

"Great! And frightening and sad…I've missed so much of her life already Jodi…and only because of that stupid accident twelve years ago…"

"What is Claire like now? I mean…I haven't really talked to her. She seemed a little quiet…"

"She's still the same old Claire…maybe a little more emotional than she used to be. Give her some time Jodi, her whole world has just been turned upside down and she's scared. To her you and Meg are strangers…don't push her. She'll come to you when she's ready…"

"So you and her are not…you know…"

"A couple? No, I'm as much a stranger to her as you are…" Ok, maybe it was not the whole truth but it came close to it "I still love her though and she knows. But like you I've got to give her time and see what happens. Right now I'm just glad she's ok and back in our lives. Everything else we'll have to see…Charlotte, Emily and Claire will be staying on Killarney the next two weeks. Plenty of time…"

"Do you think they will come over to Drovers, too?"

"I'm pretty sure they will…Claire is actually quite curious to getting to know you so give her some time and she'll show up. But that also brings me to something else…How do we tell Tess?"

"Oh…right. I am still so shocked that I completely forgot about her…any suggestions…"

"Not really…but I had hoped you would do it…"

"Typical! Maybe we could tell Nick and he tells her…"

"Don't think we'd live once Tess comes back if we tell Nick before her…"

"Right, not a good idea…I guess I'll just have to call her…and tell her to sit down! I can still remember what it was like when she found out Nick was still alive…"

"Thanks Jode…and I promise I'll be the one to call the knob..."

"Oh, so he doesn't know yet, either?"

"No, we wanted you and Tess to be the first to know…"

"Aww, thanks Alex…" Jodi looked on her watch "It's 11 pm in Argentina…I could still call her I think. I only hope Nick is home and not on a business trip again…"

She got up and headed towards the study "You coming Alex? I think I need moral support…"

With trembling fingers Jodi dialled Tess and Nick's number in Buenos Aires and prayed that they were still awake…and that Nick was there. Tess would sure need her husband with the news Jodi was about to tell her…

After three rings Nick's voice appeared in the line "Hola?"

"Hi Nick…it's Jodi. Sorry I'm calling so late…but I have something to tell Tess and it can't really wait. Could you get her for me please? And…make sure she's seated and you stick close…"

"That bad?"

"Not bad…just…shocking…"

"Ok, I'll get her for you…"

Jodi could hear Nick put the phone down and talk to Tess before her sister got on the line.

"What's up Jodi? Nick said you had something to tell me that can't wait…"

"Are you seated?"

"Yes…and Nick's next to me as you ordered. He can hear you over the speaker…if that's ok."

"Sure…saves you from telling him…Tess…there is not really an easy way to tell you…"

"Don't tell me something's wrong with Drovers!"

"Will you let me talk? Drovers is fine…but…hell I'll just say it…Claire is alive and she's in the kitchen right now preparing lunch with Mum…"

First the other end of the line was silent then Tess said "You're joking, right?"

"Actually I'm not…I just fainted two hours ago when I saw her standing in the kitchen…she's alive Tess!"

"How can you be sure it's Claire? She died! I saw the wreck…there's no way she could have survived the fire!"

Jodi could hear that Tess was crying and hoped Nick would comfort her.

"I don't know how she survived and I don't think we'll ever find that out…but it's Claire. Alex and her have done some DNA testing and there's no doubt…"

"Alex knows? How?"

"Too long to tell on the phone, Tess. But there's more that you should know…"

"Like why she hasn't come back if she was still alive?"

Jodi now heard anger in her sister's voice "Yes Tess…that's one of the things."

"Then go on! Don't make me wait forever!"

"If you'd let me I would…" Jodi rolled her eyes in her best Claire manner "Ok, here it goes…Claire couldn't come back because she's completely lost her memory in the accident…"

"What?"

"Yeah, she can't remember a thing…but there's more Tess…you have another niece…Claire has a daughter, Emily. She's eleven…"

"Eleven? She's not married now, is she?"

"No, she's not…the girl is Alex's daughter…you should see the grin on his face right now, he's sitting next to me…"

"Hand him over then!"

Alex took the receiver Jodi was holding towards him and said "Tess? It's me, Alex…"

"How long have you known?" was all his sister-in-law said.

"Six weeks…"

"Six…wow…you know…I'm gonna book a flight to Australia right now Mr Ryan and when I get there you and me have a bone to pick…how can you know six weeks and not tell me!"

"I'm sorry Tess…it was never the right time and Claire is extremely scared about everything because she can't remember you or anybody else…"

"Can I talk to her?"

"I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Please Alex…I just wanna hear her voice again…"

So Alex sighed and gave in and sent Jodi to get Claire from the kitchen. When they came back Claire said "What shall I tell her Alex…I don't know her at all!"

Alex covered the receiver with his hand "Just say something, she only wants to hear your voice…"

So Claire took the receiver and felt her heart beating in her chest like it was going to pop out. "Hello? Tess? It's Claire here…I'm sorry, I can't remember you…"

On the other end of the line she heard a gasp followed something that sounded like a sob. After a while she finally heard a voice. "Claire…I'm Tess. Your sister…I just wanted to hear your voice and tell you…I'm trying to come home as quickly as possible…I need to see you…"

Claire didn't really know what to say. She probably should have been excited but she only felt nervous at the news…so she said "Umm, ok…I'll hand you back to Alex…so you can discuss the details…" With that she handed Alex the receiver and left the room all whirled up again…

Alex and Tess agreed that Tess would call him or Jodi as soon as she knew more about the flight and then hung up to look for Claire. He needed to find her, she hadn't looked well at all when she left…

* * *

_There we have it...Claire's family knows...now...what will happen next? Stay tuned...the next part should be up later this week..._


	45. Chapter 45

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews...they always make my day. As for Claire remembering...you'll just have to read on to find out... ;-) Sorry...can't help it...I'm a big tease...lol_

_Here's the next part...enjoy!_

* * *

**45**

Alex found Claire sitting on the bathtub by the windmill, her head in her hands, her body shaken by sobs. He had to smile when he thought about how if Claire was still the old Claire he would probably have found her in the very same spot but seeing her cry also made his heart break.

So he sat down next to her, put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Claire let it happen, she even put her arms around him and cried on his shoulder. Alex didn't say anything, it wouldn't have helped anyway. Instead he just rocked her gently till the sobs got less and finally stopped.

Then he softly whispered "You all right?"

Claire lifted her head and looked at him with red eyes, shaking her head "No…I can't do this Alex…it's too much…they all want too much from me. I can't do this…" she said with a tearstained voice.

"Yes you can Claire McLeod! I won't let you give up. I've told Jodi to leave you alone and I'll talk to Tess once she's here…"

"Why does she have to come…it will be ANOTHER person that knows me and wants me to do things I can't…"

"No she won't because I'll talk to her. But you have to understand her, too. You two were very close before you disappeared and she thought she had lost you forever. Give her a hug when she's here and that will be it till you're ready…I promise. Tess, Jodi and Meg will understand…"

"Thanks Alex…and I think Meg already understands. She was really great when we were in kitchen…"

"Sounds like Meg…she's always had a seventh sense…You feel ok enough to get back to the house? I think lunch should be ready by now so we can collect your daughters on the way…"

Alex had seen Charlotte and Emily sneak into the stables earlier and he bet he would still find them there.

When Claire nodded to his question he got up and offered her a hand. "Come on P…get off your bum and come inside…I promise you everything will be all right…" He pulled Claire up and put his arm around her shoulders again, gently kissing her hair.

"Thank you Alex…what would I do without you?"

"Be lonely and miserable…" Alex joked to cheer Claire up and it worked because she pushed her elbow in his ribs.

"Easy Claire…you don't wanna kill your caretaker…do you?"

"Caretaker? I will give you your caretaker right now Alex Ryan…" Claire said with played indignation, moved out of his embrace and slapped him hard on the bum. Then she ran away and it didn't take long before the two were chasing each other on the way to the house…Alex glad that he had cheered Claire up and Claire glad that she could always count on Alex…

Little did they know that they were closely watched by two young girls who had just walked out of one of the stables. Charlotte had showed Blaze, their mother's horse, to her sister before they had both realized they were really hungry.

Since they hadn't been inside the house when Jodi called Tess, they hadn't seen Claire running up to the windmill. They came back outside just as Alex pulled Claire up and when they saw him kissing their mother's hair they stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

"Did you see that?" Charlotte asked and Emily nodded.

"Yeah…Dad kissed Mum...I mean…not really but it's better than nothing…"

Charlotte had a huge grin on her face "It is…but look at them now!They're like kids!"

"I know, Mum can be like that…but you have to admit it looks fun…and who knows, maybe we just need to give them some time and they'll be together in the end…"

"Oh yeah…and if we help a bit it'll be even faster…I have an idea…"

With that Charlotte took her sister's arm and they went back to the house whispering about what Charlotte had come up with.

The two girls were not the only ones spying on Claire and Alex. Meg and Jodi had just come out of the main house to look for everybody else because lunch was ready when they saw Claire and Alex chasing each other over the yards.

Jodi looked at her mother and sighed "Just like in old times…it's so strange to see her like that again and yet it's so natural to have her here. You could think nothing has happened and time has stood still…"

"Give her time Jodi…you saw how upset she was after the phone call with Tess. She may be like that again with Alex but you and me and Tess...everybody else practically…we're all strangers to her. We need to be really careful with what we say or do or she might decide it's too much for her to have us around…"

"But she's my sister and I know you love her like a daughter…"

"I know but she needs time to get to know us. Just for once don't be your impatient self and think about Claire. Alex said her and the girls will be on Killarney for two weeks. I'm sure there's plenty of time to spend with her…as long as she wants it!" Then Meg ended the talk with her daughter by shouting "Hey you two! Stop mucking around and get on the veranda. Lunch is ready. Where are Charlotte and Emily?"

The two girls saved Claire and Alex from an answer when Emily shouted "We're here!" and Charlotte added "And not half as dirty as Mum and Alex!"

After lunch Claire insisted on helping Meg again while Alex and Jodi were discussing some business things and Charlotte and Emily went to explore the house.

Claire felt the need to explain herself to the older woman, somehow she knew she would understand her even though she had only known her for a couple of hours.

So while they were cleaning the dishes Claire said "I'm sorry for running out on you with preparing lunch…it's not normally something I do…"

"It's ok Claire, I understand. It's been a tough day for you, hasn't it?"

"You have no idea!"

"No, not about your side…it was tough for me and Jodi, too though. But it's probably easier for us than it is for you…"

"I'm just so afraid I can't live up to your expectations…I can't remember anything about my life before I had that accident but now that you all know, I have the feeling you want me to do or say things that the 'old' Claire would have done and I don't know what I shall do…I am who I am now and I don't know how much of the 'old' me is left because I don't know anything about it…it's just so frustrating"

Claire didn't want to cry but she just couldn't help the tears that were now running down her face again. "I'm sorry…it's just…6 weeks ago my life was still normal and organized and now everything is completely turned upside down…"

"And you don't know how to deal with it…" Meg finished Claire's sentence. "That's all right Claire. Take your time to sort your life out again…and maybe you can find out if there's a place for us in it. If not we'll deal with it…right now we're just all happy you are alive and well. It's not everyday somebody turns up on your doorstep that you thought died 12 years ago…"

Claire's tears stopped again. Meg's words had actually given her a little comfort that maybe everything could turn out all right even if she never got her memory back but it also made her feel guilty for giving her probably the shock of her life.

"I'm sorry Meg…it wasn't meant to be that way. Actually Alex wanted to prepare you for mine and Emily's appearance but you managed to come across those plans…"

Meg laughed "So it's rather me that should feel sorry for myself. And at least I didn't actually faint like my daughter…"

Claire could see there was something else on Meg's mind and she already had an idea of what it was…she had seen the looks on Meg's and Jodi's face when Alex and her had chased each other through the yards. And sure enough only a few seconds after her thoughts Meg asked the question.

"I'm not sure if you wanna talk about it with me…but is there anything going on between you and Alex? I mean…you must know by the existence of Emily that you two were more than just mates before the accident…"

Claire smiled "Yes, I know all about me and Alex…although I can't remember it. But Alex is ok with that and right now he's just a good friend that helps me through a hard time…"

There was no need to tell Meg about the kiss or the growing feelings she had for the father of her daughter. The situation was confusing enough the way it was, there was no need to get more people and more opinions involved.

Meg smiled and nodded, then they both turned their attention to the dishes again…

Later that day when the girls had already gone to bed Alex joined Claire for a beer in the back garden of Killarney.

After lunch on Drovers and obviously a talk in the kitchen with Meg, Claire had decided to spend the rest of the day on Drovers as well and they had stayed for dinner.

Since Claire had already gotten the tour of the house from Alex when they had looked for DNA traces of her she had asked Jodi if she could show her the rest of the homestead. Alex had seen how nervous Claire had been while asking this so he had insisted on coming with them…to give Claire the special Alex tour of course…but both of them had been surprised by Jodi's behaviour.

She had been friendly but reserved and it had looked like Alex's little chat with her had kicked in. Claire had been so thankful for that that she hadn't even cared much when Terry had showed up and had been as happy to see her as Meg and Jodi earlier that day. Thankfully he hadn't gotten as much of a shock as the girls since Meg had already warned him over the phone.

Now Alex could see Claire sitting outside in the dark, wrapped in a blanket with a beer in hands. It had taken him ages again to do the bookwork he had missed out on on Friday…he should really get Claire to help him again…but now it was all done and he walked out into the garden with a beer in hand himself to join Claire.

"You know…we do actually have a light out here…" he said as he sat down beside her.

"I know but I prefer the darkness tonight…I like seeing the stars…"

"Another thing that hasn't changed then…you and Tess always used to look up in the sky…are you ok?" Alex asked and looked at her even though it was hard to see her face in the darkness.

Claire shrugged her shoulders "Yeah…I guess. I don't know…it's been a tough day but the end was good…"

"Good. And I promise you it'll be all right once Tess is here, too. I just had her on the phone and we had a little chat. She'll be here on Monday with her kids. They're on Easter holiday, too. Nick has to work and can't come yet so that's one less person to meet…"

"Good. I think I'll have enough with my sister and my niece and nephew…"

"Think positive…at least little Claire and Jack won't expect anything from you since they were born after your accident. But we'll probably have a lot of fun having two Claire's around…" Alex chuckled. "Maybe you should have sticked with Prue…"

Claire laughed "Yeah, maybe I should have…but then again…no, I'm Claire McLeod and I have proof of that so I wanna use my name. We'll manage with two Claires. Doesn't Tess have a nickname for her daughter?"

"I don't know, I don't get to see them all that often…" Alex got a little sad at the thought that his brother and his family lived so far away and Claire seemed to sense it because she said "Well…I'm sure they'll stay a while now so you can find out…"

Alex nodded and they both sipped on their beer and stay quiet for a while.

Then Claire pointed towards the sky and said "See those two stars up there that are shining really bright right next to each other? Those are Emily's and my stars…"

"Not again…"

"What you mean not again?"

"You and Tess talked about having stars once, too. And I think you even picked one for Charlotte after she was born…"

"Really? Wow…do you know which ones we picked?"

"Nope, sorry…you never told me. That was yours and Tess's secret. You'll have to ask her when she's here…I'm sure she knows."

"Hmm…I might do that…" Claire placed down the empty beer bottle and threw the blanket away. "I'm heading inside…I've had enough for today."

"Ok…night Claire. And don't worry so much…it'll all be all right, just wait and see…"

"Thanks Alex…for everything! Night…and try not to snore so loud…" Claire chuckled and Alex gave her a slap on the bum before Claire headed inside and left him alone in the night…

* * *

_So...what do you think will happen now? Stay tuned and you'll find out...thanks for reading!_


	46. Chapter 46

_A/N: Since I'm German I don't really know anything about Australian Easter traditions but I did as my friend in England what they do and it sounded pretty similar to what we do here so I just wrote those things the way we would do them here..._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**46**

Alex got up early the next morning to hide all the Easter eggs and little chocolate treats Rhoda had prepared for each of the girls to fill their Easter nests. There were 5 eggs for each girl and the equal amount of chocolate.

Charlotte's eggs were all red and orange and her chocolate treats had a red bow while Emily's eggs were blue and yellow and her chocolate was marked with a blue bow.

Alex had just begun to hide the twenty items in the Killarney garden when he heard a voice from the house.

"Need help?"

He had been so caught up in his thoughts trying to find the best hiding places that the nearly dropped one of the eggs now because he hadn't heard Claire come up behind him.

"Jeez! You just about killed Emily's egg there, Claire!"

She laughed and petted him on the shoulder "I'm sure Rhonda has a spare one…and if not I'm really able to make another one…How many have you already hidden?"

"Only two…one of Emily's over there and one of Charlotte's over there…" Alex pointed in the directions.

"Ok, why don't you stay here and I'll grab half of the things and hide them over there…that way you'll be finished faster and can enjoy the wonderful things Rhonda made for breakfast while they're still hot!"

"I like your thinking Claire…let's get to it then!"

Working together they had everything hidden in no time and went back inside to wake up the girls and have breakfast. Because it was a special day, Rhonda had set the breakfast table in the living room instead of the kitchen where Alex usually had breakfast now.

He still remembered the first week after Fiona had left…they had always had breakfast in the living room alone like he had done all those years with his parents.

After Fiona had packed her suitcase Rhonda had kept doing that for a week till Alex couldn't take it anymore and had one day just walked into the kitchen before breakfast was ready and had told the older woman that from now on they would have breakfast together.

Rhonda had never said anything about it but after that day Alex only found his breakfast in the living room when he had special guests. Even the two weeks Claire had spent with him they had always eaten in the kitchen. So the living room was something very special now.

About an hour later Claire and Alex sat on the back terrace of Killarney having a cuppa while giving Charlotte and Emily little cold/hot hints of where to find their Easter goodies.

"Dad! You could have really made it a little easier for us!"

"Oh…where you're looking right now your Mum was the one who hid the things…so don't blame me!"

Claire smiled. She knew she had gotten a little carried away with finding the best hiding places but Emily was used to it…they had done that every year on Shaw's Acres since Emily was old enough to walk.

Charlotte had told her last night that she hadn't done a search for Easter eggs for a long time and once again Claire had felt guilty for not being with her oldest daughter when she grew up.

"I've found one!" She heard Charlotte shout and then the girl came running to place the egg in her Easter nest. "This is a lot of fun Mum…thanks!" she said with a smile and off she went.

Claire smiled but then sighed thinking again about what Charlotte had said last night. "I can't believe she's never really done this before…"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Last night Charlotte told me the last time she was searching for Easter eggs was her last Easter on Drovers and that she couldn't actually remember it…"

"Oh that…yeah, she told me, too. I never really understood Peter in a few things…he's not a bad father, I can't say that but there are some things missing…and they make me wish I had listened to my heart all those years ago instead of my lonely ego…"

Claire sighed again and looked at her two daughters still searching when Alex said "Talking about Peter…I think we should call him and tell him you're alive…"

"What, you mean now? Alex…I don't wanna ruin this day by having to worry about yet another person and what he might want me to do…"

"He has a right to know Claire, he's Charlotte's father after all…and he's in the USA on a business trip so that he couldn't even come to spend some time with his daughter. And besides…you two were long over before the accident happened, I doubt he'll jump a plane right away like Tess…"

"If you say so…" Claire wasn't really convinced but knew Alex was right.

They had to tell Peter and now that her family knew there was no real excuse for not telling him other than her fear. And Alex had said to leave Peter to him…she wouldn't have to talk to Charlotte's father.

"Ok…call him. But I'm staying out here and don't you dare get me on the phone like you did when you called my sister!"

Alex took Claire's hand and squeezed it before he got up. "I wouldn't let him talk to you if the world depended on it. He can work people up faster than you can say 'I object'…Righto…I'm inside then…if I call for Charlotte send her to the study, will ya? He might wanna talk to her…"

Claire felt her heart pounding faster but nodded. She would keep her fingers crossed everything would turn out all right…

Once inside his study Alex picked up the receiver and first looked at it for a second. He had thought about how to tell Peter a hundred times ever since he found out about Claire but every time Peter reacted differently…and not always in the best way…

Alex sighed. He had just told Claire it had to be and it was not too late in the USA, not even Sunday yet, so he should just get it over and done with. The longer they waited the worse Peter's reaction would be…

So Alex dialled Peter's mobile phone number and waited for him to pick up. After the fourth ring he heard "Johnson…" on the other hand and his heart started pounding even more than it already had.

"Hi Peter…it's Alex." He slowly said.

"Alex! Why are you calling? Is there something wrong with Charlotte?"

"No, no…Charlotte's fine. She's outside searching for her Easter goodies…but my call is to some extend about her, too. Are you seated? If not then you better sit down because what I'm going to tell you now can swipe you off your feet for sure…"

"Don't stretch it Ryan…spit it out. My time's limited…" Alex could hear that Peter was annoyed by his call.

"Well, I'll just say it then…but don't say you haven't been warned!" Alex said in the same annoyed tone. Even after all these years Peter was still a knob and managed to get Alex to 180 in no time.

To calm himself down again he took a deep breath before saying "Remember when Charlotte ran away a few weeks ago?"

"Sure…"

"Well, I have to admit we weren't quite honest to you about the reason…but we wanted to have proof first before we said anything…" Alex took another deep breath "Peter…Claire is alive…she didn't die twelve years ago…" then he was waiting for a reaction.

At first there was silence. Then Peter's annoyed voice was to be heard again "You're joking, right? It's not April Fool's day Alex…"

"No, I'm not joking Peter. Claire survived the accident but she lost her memory…"

"Alex…I can't believe this. You said the Ute was completely burned out when you found it…"

"It was…but she must have gotten out before it even caught fire. I really don't know what happened back then Peter since none of us were there when the Ute went down. All I know is that Claire is alive and we have DNA proof…"

"Has Charlotte seen her yet?"

Now it was time for the hard part…"Yes…actually Claire is sitting outside watching Charlotte search for her eggs…"

Silence again. Then "How did you find out?"

"It was actually Charlotte who found out…which was the reason why she ran away…"

"What happened? How can a twelve year old girl find something that nobody else could?" Peter sounded angry now.

"Calm down Peter…it was not my fault…Charlotte got a new roommate this year and they compared pictures of their mothers…which turned out to be the same person…"

"What do you mean the same person?"

"Claire has a daughter Peter…Emily…she's…she's my daughter." Alex waited anxiously for Peter's reaction on that but he didn't get any.

Instead Alex got a question he hadn't really expected…"Can I talk to Claire?"

"This is not a good idea Peter…she doesn't have any memory at all about her life before the accident. She doesn't know who you are other than from what I've told her…"

Silence on the other end again "She can't remember a single thing?"

"No…but she does know what happened…I couldn't keep that from her Peter…"

"Ok…" Peter sounded disappointed. Had he really hoped Alex wouldn't tell Claire what he had done to her? But this was not the right time to argue about that. They needed to discuss what would happen next.

"When are you coming back Peter?"

"I don't know…Charlotte was so happy staying with you that I had intended to stay here a bit longer but now…"

Alex felt anger rise inside of him. Charlotte was Peter's daughter! No matter if she had a place to go to now or not…he should be there for her. But he swallowed the anger and instead said "I think you should come as quickly as possible and sort your things with Claire out. Even if she can't remember she's still Charlotte's mother and has rights. So…WHEN are you coming?"

"I guess I could sort the most necessary things out here in about 3 weeks…but I'd have to go back at one point…"

"Good. Three weeks it is then. Claire, Charlotte and Emily will be here the next two weeks, after that I'll let you know where you can find Claire. Maybe we can even sort the legal things out till then…"

"Ok Alex…I'll let you know when exactly I'll be back…tell Charlotte I love her and Claire that I'm glad she is alive…" When Peter said those last words his tone got softer and Alex knew he meant it honestly…

In the garden the girls had finally found their last Easter Eggs and Chocolate and Claire and Rhonda, who had come outside to watch the event, were applauding heavily when Claire suddenly felt Alex's presence in her back. She turned around and there he was. Smiling. A good sign she hoped.

Charlotte must have seen the worried look her mother gave Alex because she asked her "What's up Mum?"

Before Claire could say anything Alex answered "I just talked to your Dad…"

"Oh…what did he say? Does he know about Mum now?" The girl excitedly asked.

Claire held her breath when she waited for Alex's answer.

"Yes, he does know…and he wanted to let you know that he loves you Charlotte and he'll be coming back in three weeks…"

Claire could see her daughters face light up at those news. No matter how much the girl liked to spend time with her and Alex, Peter was still her Dad and it was clear she loved him.

"Can we go inside and have some of the chocolate, Mum?" Emily then asked impatiently.

"Only one piece for each of you girls! I want you to eat the lovely lunch Rhonda is cooking for us!"

Rhonda smiled and petted Claire's shoulder "I'll take them inside and make sure they stick to the rules…"

Claire thanked Rhonda and the two girls went inside with the older woman and their Easter nests.

Then Claire turned to Alex "And what did he really say?"

"He was shocked of course but told me to say that he's really glad you're alive. He'll be coming back in three weeks…"

Claire could feel Alex was not telling her everything. "That's not all, is it?"

"Well, it is…it was not so much what he said but the way he said it…he can just still get me fuming in no time…but we'll sort everything out in three weeks I hope. I practically had to force him to a date…I don't get it. He has 3 daughters in this country and it looks like he doesn't care about them one bit…"

"Well, it looks like he doesn't know how lucky he is…but I'm glad that you called him now and that we have some time till I have to meet him so let's stop talking about it…Tell me…are there any chocolate treats hidden out there for me?"

"No…but I know where the supply is…" Alex said with a wiggle of his eyebrows and offered Claire a hand so they could get back inside together…

* * *

_Well...the knob knows now...and he's finally coming back from the USA...so...stay tuned to find out what happens next..._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing! You always make my day!_


	47. Chapter 47

_A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry it took me so long again to update...but my life's been really busy lately with planning a birthday party, hurting myself and trying to do something for university..._

_Anyway...Enjoy!_

* * *

**47**

After a wonderful Easter Sunday lunch on which Rhonda had joined them on Alex's insistence, Claire, Alex, Charlotte and Emily saddled up their horses and rode over to Drovers Run.

The day before Meg and Terry had spontaneously decided to give Charlotte and Emily another Easter search. They would split up all the things they had bought for Charlotte and would hide them all over the Drovers homestead.

Claire had protested at first stating that the girls would get spoiled getting goodies twice a day but in the end she had given in to the pleading faces all around her.

Now the girls were on a mission all over Drovers and Terry was filming the whole thing with a video camera, giving them little hints where they might find something while Claire, Alex, Meg and Jodi sat on the veranda, enjoying tea and cake, listening to the excited voices of Terry and the girls.

"Oh Alex…" Jodi suddenly started "Nick called earlier today! Tess and the kids are already on their way to Adelaide and will be in Fisher by 10 tomorrow. I've told him somebody would pick them up there…and that somebody has to be you…because we have some sheep to bring in…"

"Me? Why me? She's your sister and I have guests!" Alex wasn't really happy with what Jodi had just told him.

"You could take your guests with you…" Jodi said and took a quick look at Claire, but so did Alex. And other than her sister he could see the short vision of fear that rushed over Claire's eyes. So he quickly said "I don't think that's a good idea, Jode…you know what happened yesterday when Claire talked to Tess…"

But to his surprise Claire jumped into the conversation with a quite confident sounding voice. "You can really go and pick Tess up Alex…the girls and I can manage half a day without you. We'll be fine. And besides…there wouldn't be enough room in the car for all of us anyway…" Always the practical Claire.

But what really surprised Alex were Claire's next words "Why don't you invite her to come over to Killarney for dinner? I'll cook us something nice and she can bring her kids…"

"Are you sure Claire? I'm sure Tess will wait till you're ready to meet her…" Meg asked. Alex could see she was as surprised as he was by Claire's comment.

"I am sure, yes. I've been thinking a lot last night…and I've tried to put myself in your situation and I've come to realize…I've got to give you some ground to stand on…and Tess is my sister and she hasn't seen me in twelve years…she has a right to see me now. I'd just prefer if it was some location I was familiar with…like Killarney…if that's all right with you." She turned to Meg and Jodi.

"Sure Claire…whatever makes you feel better…we're fine with it." Meg said and leaned forward to touch Claire's hand like she had always done but hesitated and leaned back again.

"Thanks Meg…maybe we could meet each other half way or something…I'll try to keep my nerves under control and will get to know you all better and in return you could try and not expect too much of me…"

"I think we can agree on that…right Jodi?" Meg said with a smile and Alex saw Jodi nod.

"Do I get a say in that?" Alex finally said.

"No…why?" Claire asked in an amused tone.

"Because I'm the one who has to get up damn early to pick Tess and her two little tots up and drive them all the way out here! They're gonna chat my ears off and half of what the kids say will be in Spanish again!"

But Alex only got fits of laughter and a peck on the cheek from Jodi…

When Claire got up the next morning Alex had already gone to pick her sister and her niece and nephew up. She found his empty plate on the kitchen table next to a sleeping Rhonda. Her head had sunk down to her chest and she was snoring a little, the arms folded in front her breasts.

Claire carefully sat down next to her and stroked one of her arms. "Rhonda?"

The old woman moved a bit and then slowly opened her eyes. "What? Oh…Claire…I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep again…" she quickly looked on her watch "Alex left half an hour ago…" Rhonda hid a yawn behind her hand.

"Why don't you go back to bed Rhonda? You're obviously too tired to keep your eyes open and shouldn't even be in this kitchen. Alex could have really made himself something to eat, he's old enough…"

"What about your breakfast Claire?"

"That I can really make that myself…you go back to your place and have a nap for another hour or two and I'll get the girls fed…actually…why don't you take the whole day off? You deserve it and I'm cooking dinner anyway…" Claire got up and offered Rhonda a hand. The old woman was quite agile for her age but still seemed to be glad whenever she got a helping hand.

"Thanks Claire…I really appreciate that. You know…I didn't sleep well last night…took me a long time to fall asleep and then the alarm clock went off way too soon…"

"Rhonda…at your age you shouldn't even have an alarm clock! You should be able to sleep as long as you want…you're not getting any younger, you know?"

"Oh Claire…how should I do that? With Alex around? I'm the only one taking care of him…"

"Well, not for the next two weeks…tell you what. While I'm here breakfast is my duty. I'm up anyway and really don't mind. You sleep in and can do lunch and dinner…"

"Claire…you're a guest…"

"Hogwash…I feel useless here without something to do and you need sleep…perfect deal. Now go to bed and let me work!"

Alex arrived at the Fisher airstrip at quarter to ten and hoped that Tess's plane hadn't come early. He took a look around and saw that he was lucky so he sat down and picked up a newspaper while he waited.

Ten minutes later a smaller, white plane landed and Alex assumed it was the one Tess would be in so he got up. And he was right. One of he first person's he could see getting out of the plane were two blond kids, each with a little rucksack on their backs, followed by the well known figure of his sister-in-law.

It didn't take them long to get inside the building where Alex was waiting and shortly after that he had the two kids running towards him shouting "Uncle Alex!"

"Whoa you two! Slow down! Are you trying to kill me? I'm an old man!" he said with both little Claire and Jack hanging on his feet.

Tess must have heard his last remark because she started laughing "You're not THAT old Alex!"

"Hey Tess, how was the flight?"

"Hi Alex…" Tess said with a smile and tried to give Alex a hug despite her kids still hanging at his feet "The flight was fine…but the hotel room in Adelaide was horrible! I'm glad I'll be sleeping in my own bed tonight!"

"I bet! Where are your suitcases? We should really head back…" Alex asked and looked around.

"They'll be here any minute now I think. Don't be so impatient!" Tess said with a laugh.

Once they were in the car and Alex had stored the suitcases in the back of the Ute, Tess took a deep breath then asked "So…how's Claire?"  
Alex took a look at her before he started the car and drove off, not answering her question immediately.

"Claire's fine Tess…a little emotional right now but fine. But I couldn't bring her, sorry. It would have been too much for her. You should have seen her on Saturday after we called you…it's all really hard on her."

"I understand Alex and it's ok. And she really can't remember a thing?"

"No Tess…not really anyway. When we were on Drovers the first time she remembered Jack's study and she could also remember the name BOM but no real memories. That's why everything's so hard for her…you're all strangers."

"And you are not?"

"Not anymore…I've known her for 6 weeks now Tess and she spent two weeks on Killarney right after we found out…I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away but Claire wanted to wait to find out who she was…"

"It's ok Alex…" Tess interrupted him "I'm not mad. Just still a little shocked but glad she's alive…and as I promised you and Meg I'll wait to see her till she's ready…" Alex could hear the sad tone in Tess's voice.

"Oh, about that…Claire has invited you to dinner at Killarney tonight. You and those two short ones in the back. She really wants to meet you Tess…"

"Dinner at Killarney? Sounds fine…what do you say kids?" Tess said and turned around and Alex could see heavy nodding in the rear view mirror. "What's Rhonda cooking?"

Now Alex had to smile. Tess didn't know about Claire's job yet…

"Rhonda's not cooking Tess…Claire is. And I don't know what we're having. I haven't talked to her this morning…"

"Claire's cooking? Ok…I guess she has changed…" Alex had to laugh at the surprised look on Tess's face.

"She hasn't really changed all that much. Deep down she's still the same old Claire we've all loved and missed all those years. She's just added a few things…like the cooking! And let me tell you…she is a great cook now!"

"Well…I guess I have to trust you on that one…" Tess said shaking her head.

They spent the rest of the drive to Drovers talking about what else had happened since they had last had a lengthy phone call, about what was going on on Drovers and Killarney, Nick's job, what Tess was doing, how little Claire was doing in school, how Jack liked kindergarten…and Alex had been right…the kids were talking his ear off…and in Spanish!

When they arrived he was glad that there were now other people in the kids' attention and he quickly said goodbye to get back to Killarney…at least the two girls there spoke English with him!

* * *

_So...Tess is back now...and it won't be long till she can finally give her sister a hug. Only...how will Claire react? _

_Well...stay tuned to find out ;-)_


	48. Chapter 48

_A/N: Well...here's the part I know many of you have been waiting for..._

* * *

**48**

A few hours later Tess drove the Drovers Ute with her two kids in the backseat up the Killarney driveway deep in thought about what she was going to find now. She couldn't really imagine what it would be like to have Claire standing in front of her again after twelve long years.

And yet…it still wouldn't be the same because her older sister that she had missed so much didn't have a clue who she was. And if Tess was honest with herself the Claire she was about to meet was a total stranger to her, too. Alex had told her a bit about Claire's life in the past years on the drive home from Fisher but that hadn't really told her what her sister was like now.

When she reached the Killarney homestead she saw two girls playing badminton in back garden…both brown hair, almost equal in height and body type. One of them had a familiar face…her niece Charlotte…so the other one was probably Claire's and Alex's daughter Emily.

"Can we get out and look for Uncle Alex, Mum?" Tess's daughter Claire asked from the backseat.

"We'll look together, ok?" Tess said and got out of the car to help the five year old Jack climb out before picking up a basket filled with little gifts she had brought from Argentina.

Before she could prevent it Jack and Claire had seen the two girls in the garden as well and they forgot all about their Uncle Alex and ran towards them.

"Jack…Claire!" Tess shouted after them "Slow down!" but it didn't help a thing.

It was then that Charlotte must have realized her beloved Aunty Tess had arrived because she dropped the badminton racket and ran towards her, almost knocking her younger cousins over.

"Aunty Tess! You're here! I haven't seen you for so long!"

Tess put the basket on the ground and gave her niece a hug. "Look at how much you've grown! You're really getting tall there young lady. Not long and you'll be taller than me!"

Tess noticed that the other girl had come up to the two of them followed by Claire and Jack. "Hey! You must be Emily! I'm your Aunt Tess! Nice to meet you!"

"Hi! Yeah, I'm Emily…you're the one from Argentina right?" Emily said with a smile and when Tess nodded she added "Cool! Can I come and visit you there one day?" which made her Aunt laugh.

"Well, I can definitely tell where you got your mouth from…but yes, you can come and visit me together with Charlotte if your mother says it's all right…"

The smile on Emily's face grew even wider "Thanks! And I'm sure Mum will say yes!"

"Well, that's set then. Do I get a proper hug now, as your Aunt?" Tess asked and opened her arms and Emily slipped inside. Then the girl was introduced to her younger cousins before Tess asked where she could find Claire or Alex.

"But I'm here Mum!" her daughter protested which made Tess laugh again. It would be really interesting having two Claire's around.

"Alex is still having a shower and Mum was still in the kitchen last time I saw her…I'll tell her you're here, ok?" Charlotte offered and before Tess could say anything the girl had disappeared into the house.

Claire was just filling the chocolate pudding into glasses to put it in the fridge till it was served when her oldest daughter stormed in the kitchen.

"Mum! Aunty Tess is here!"

"Already? Where's Alex?"

"I could still hear the shower outside so I'd guess…bathroom."

"Still? Even I don't take that long in the shower and I'm a woman! Men are supposed to be faster…" Charlotte chuckled. "Well, tell your Aunt to sit down in the garden and ask her if she wants something to drink. Same is true for your cousins. I'm not quite finished here yet so they will have to wait till Alex is finished with his beauty treatment…" Another chuckle from Charlotte…and a huge laugh from the door…

Claire turned around and saw a blond woman standing in the doorway…her sister Tess. In no time Claire's heart was racing in her chest and her hands turned sweaty.

"I guess some things didn't change…you're still bossing Alex around. Hi, I'm Tess…your sister…" Tess offered her hand Claire shook it after wiping it on her apron first.

"Hi Tess, nice to meet you…I guess you know who I am…umm, I'm sorry but I'm not quite finished here yet…why don't you sit down somewhere and wait till Alex is finished with his shower? You want something to drink? How about your kids?"

That wasn't going too bad Claire thought to herself. Her heart was slowly slowing down a bit and Tess seemed really nice. Maybe Alex was right and everything would be all right in the end…

Tess looked at her sister…her sister that was supposed to be dead. She was trying to sound as calm as possible since Alex had warned her not to push Claire too much. But it cost her all her strength right now not to make a few steps forward and embrace Claire.

It was good that she had seen Claire from the doorway talking to Charlotte before the two had noticed her. That way the shock had worn off a little when she had to laugh about Claire's comment towards Alex. Some things really never changed.

Now Claire was filling two glasses with what looked like Rhonda's self made lemonade for her kids and Tess had time to take a proper look.

Claire looked a bit older than 12 years ago which was natural and her hair was a bit longer than when she had last seen her but still had the same dark brown colour. Other than that she looked the way Tess remembered her which made it even harder to resist hugging her and just holding her tight.

"Take that out to your cousins and if you or your sister want something to drink too come back and get two more glasses." Claire handed Charlotte the two glasses and the girl nodded.

Before she left the kitchen Claire added "And I hope you stay clean!"

"Mum…I'm not 5! I know how to keep my clothes clean!"

If Tess hadn't known better one could have thought this was a normal talk between a mother and her daughter and nobody would have guessed that Charlotte had lived without Claire for so long. If she was like that with Charlotte Tess couldn't wait to see Claire with Emily…

Alex had heard the shouting of more than two kids downstairs when he had turned the shower off which meant Tess was a bit early for dinner. So he hurried up to get dressed and get down into the kitchen because he had wanted to be by Claire's side when she met her sister for the first time.

But the voices from the kitchen told him he was already too late. He stopped in the kitchen door without the two women in there noticing and just listened to them talk.

Tess was sitting at the kitchen table asking Claire all kinds of questions about her life and Claire did the same with Tess while putting the finishing touches on the dinner as it seemed. Alex noticed that both women were carefully choosing their words but seemed more relaxed than he would have thought. Finally Tess looked up and noticed him.

"Hey Claire…look who finished his beauty treatment…" she said from where she was sitting, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Beauty treatment?" Alex was confused and walked over to the stove and looked into one of the pots.

"Not my words!" Tess held her hands up in defence and nodded towards Claire.

"You took ages in the shower Alex so I assumed you had a beauty treatment." Claire said from the stove without even looking at him.

When he tried to reach for a carrot in the pot Alex suddenly saw a hand flick forward and before he knew it he had been slapped

"Hands out of the pots Alex Ryan…you won't starve till we eat…could you get me the girls to set the table? You could help them if you're not too busy stealing the food. And let Rhonda know I'm almost finished…"

Finally Claire turned around and looked at Tess "I hope you don't mind I invited her, too. It's her day off since I've occupied the kitchen and she needs to eat, too…"

"No, that's fine Claire…"

Rubbing his hand from Claire's slap Alex went to set the table with the girls, all the while smiling about Tess's face after the carrot encounter.

She had looked really surprised…probably about the fact that he and Claire were acting almost like they had twelve years ago while Claire was still quite distant to her. It was almost like it had been all those years back when Tess had come to Drovers after their father's death. Claire was reserved and Tess didn't know what to expect…it seemed like history was repeating itself in a funny way…

"Wow Claire…I have to admit that was great!" Tess leaned back in her chair after placing the spoon in her pudding glass. "You can cook for me any day now…"

"See? I told you she could cook now!"

"Oh yeah…she definitely can…if I think back to that tuna casserole you made for us shortly after I came back…you've definitely improved." Tess said with a smile at Claire. She hoped her sister wouldn't mind the comparison with her past.

But Tess was relieved to see Claire laugh.

"Yeah…Alex told me about my uneatable tuna casserole…I'm sorry if I made anybody sick…"

"No…that was Tess…" Alex said with a wink. "She served some kind of exotic food and I've heard that Jodi felt really bad the next day…"

"She only ate too much…and if you don't be quiet Alex I'm gonna leave my two chatterboxes here over night!"

The four kids had long gone outside to play and Tess could see them chasing each other through the garden and now running towards the house.

"Alex! Can Emily and I show Claire and Jack our rooms? Please? They are so cool!"

"They have rooms here already?" Tess was surprised. She HAD missed a lot…

"Yeah, Alex gave us his and Nick's old rooms…wanna see them, too?"

Tess could see Charlotte's excited face and nodded and a few minutes later she had to admit that the girls had been right…Alex had done an amazing job with the two rooms.

After all those years where the house had been rather empty it looked like it really had become the home of a family now…and Tess was happy for Alex, he deserved having a family after all the time with Fiona.

Tess looked on her watch and sighed. It was time to get back to Drovers and get her kids in bed…the last two days had been long for all of them.

She found Claire and Alex in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and joking with each other. If she was honest with herself she was a little jealous that Claire was so at ease with Alex while she was still very distant to her. But she reminded herself that she was still a stranger to her sister and Alex had spent quite some time with her…it was really like coming back to Drovers all those years ago…

"Alex, Claire…I think my kids and I should head home…it's getting late and I should really get them to bed…"

"Ok Tess…get them together and we'll be right with you!" Alex said with a side look at Claire but her sister nodded with a smile and said "We're almost finished here…"

15 minutes later Tess and her kids were on their way back to Drovers.

Saying goodbye to her sister again and leaving her on Killarney had really felt strange for Tess because every fibre of her body shouted that Claire belonged to Drovers. But if Killarney was where she felt safe it was ok…as long as she stayed around a bit.

And she had promised to come over in the next days and bring Charlotte and Emily with her. It hadn't sounded as excited as Tess had hoped for but it was a start. And a good sign that it had come from Claire herself.

Back home Tess quickly got Claire and Jack into bed and then sat down on the veranda next to Meg. When she saw the woman that had become like a mother to her all the tension she had kept inside of her all day fell off and she broke down in Megs arms crying heavily…her sister was alive…

On Killarney Alex found Claire on the back terrace again sipping on a beer staring out in the dark.

"So…what's the verdict about Tess?" he asked her as he sat down next to her.

"I don't know…it was strange…but Tess seems nice. And her kids, too. If she stays longer though we'll have to do something about the name thing…that was kinda confusing!"

"Yeah… you're right there…does that mean you'll go over to Drovers more often now to get to know your family better?"

Claire thought for a second "Yeah…I think I'll go over tomorrow…maybe they need some help somewhere and I won't feel so useless…by the way, while I'm here I'm making breakfast…Rhonda needs more sleep!"

Alex smiled in the dark. Claire would always be the same…with or without memory…

* * *

_So...that was the first meeting of Claire and Tess after 12 years...what did you think? And what more is there to come? Check back in a few days to find out ;-)_


	49. Chapter 49

_A/N: So...here's the next part...with more of Tess and Claire..._

* * *

**49**

A week after Claire had first met her sister Tess she stood at the sink in the Drovers kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water.

She had helped Jodi bring some cattle in, that Drovers wanted to sell at the auction in Gungellan the following day and they had just come back.

It was the second time Claire had helped out on Drovers in that week, the first time right after Tess had come home because one of the shearers had walked out on them and this time because Tess, who was originally supposed to help Jodi, had had to drive her son Jack to the hospital because the boy had climbed up a tree and fallen down.

They hadn't heard anything from Tess yet but Jodi had told Claire that the boy's arm had looked pretty bad and was probably broken. Since all the other hands had already been assigned to other jobs Jodi had called Killarney if she could borrow one of their hands but had only reached Claire who had offered her help right away.

She had to admit after the first awkwardness between her and her sisters was gone she actually enjoyed spending time with them. And since Alex had taken both girls out to help him with some fences and all three of them had decided it should be a morning without Mum she felt a little useless on Killarney.

Claire just placed down the glass when the phone rang. She knew she was alone in the house, Jodi was still outside giving the hands some orders, Tess was at the hospital, Meg and Terry had gone into town to visit some friends, but she wasn't sure if she should pick it up.

She waited a bit…maybe the person calling would give up if it took too long or the answering machine would take it. But she was out of luck…the phone kept on ringing and it looked like Jodi had forgotten to put the answering machine on.

With a sigh Claire picked up the phone that was resting on the kitchen table and looked for the right button to press.

"Hello? Drovers Run?" she said and prayed that she had done the right thing.

"Claire? Is that you?"

Claire sighed in relief…it was Tess.

"Yeah, it's me…we just came back from bringing the cattle in…How's Jack?"

"Pissed he has to stay in the house now…proud of his cast" Tess chuckled "His arm's broken as I thought and he'll have to wear a cast for at least four weeks…everything else is fine. I'm glad he didn't hit his head, tho. I'm calling to tell you we're on our way back now…I was expecting the answering machine to take the call…"

"Yeah, me too. But it looks like Jodi forgot to put it on…you having lunch in town or shall we keep something for you?"

"Nah, we've had something from the hospital cantina, that should do till dinner…Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping Jodi…I know you're on holiday…"

"And feeling useless…it's ok Tess. I'm on holiday to get to know my family. And what's better than bringing in some cattle together? Drive safely…I guess I'll still be here when you're back…"

They hung up and Claire smiled. She really liked Tess. And Jodi. It still felt a little weird to know they were her sisters and not being able to remember them but Claire could feel all the love that they had for her and saw in their eyes how happy they were to have her back and how hard it was on them to hold back the way they did. Maybe one day she could give them back what they wanted…she really hoped she could.

"Hey Claire…I thought I heard the phone ring…"

"You did, it was Tess. Jack's arm is broken and in a cast now and they're on their way back now…shall I fix us some lunch? Tess and the kids had something at the hospital so it's just you and me…"

"You're my guest here Claire, I should fix you something!"

"Umm, thank you Jodi…Tess told me about your attempt to cook eggs without water…I think it's safer if I do it…"

Just then the phone rang again and Jodi answered it only to hand the receiver to Claire a few seconds later.

"It's for you…Alex."

"Oh…" Claire said and put the phone to her ear "Alex? What's up?"

"Claire…I just had a special delivery…the papers came back!"

"Papers?"

"You know…the ones about Emily's birth certificate and the one about your death…"

"Oh…those papers…and?" Claire was curious. They had gotten notice that the papers had been sent to the justice of peace Tuesday. The fact that they got them back now probably meant everything was solved and changed…at least Claire hoped so!

"All changed and official!" Alex happily said "You are officially alive again and Emily is officially my daughter…"

Claire heard how Alex's voice got a soft tone when he said the last words. She knew he felt the same way about Emily that she felt about Charlotte. It still amazed her every day to see the girl walk around and laugh and have fun and know this was her daughter. She wanted to make up for all the years she had missed in her life but had to be careful she didn't spoil her. And the same was true for Alex and Emily.

"Anyway…" Alex then said "This shouts for a party, don't you think?"

"What, tonight? But we have to get up early because of the cattle auction! I don't think it's the right day for a party!"

"Party? We're having a party tonight? Why are we having a party?" Jodi now asked excitedly. She had been standing next to Claire the whole time.

"I haven't said yes yet Jodi! Alex wants to have one because everything's official now…" but soon after she had said that Claire heard two people begging her to give in with at least one making a puppy face…so she finally said "Ok, ok…we're having a party tonight…where?"

"Drovers? It's a McLeod party after all so…" Jodi suggested and all three of them agreed.

After Claire had hung up Jodi called her mother in Gungellan to go shopping before she and Terry left and Claire decided she would go back to Killarney to have a shower and get into some fresh clothes then she would come back to Drovers with the girls and Alex to help with the party preparations.

A few hours later Drovers had gone through a dramatic and quick change. Jodi had proved her talent in decorating and now the veranda was decorated with colourful balloons and festoons and there were lampions all over the garden.

Meg, Tess and Claire had prepared all kinds of salads and Alex and Terry were just starting the grill. Jodi was playing games with the kids so they would be entertained till everything was done.

When everything was finally ready, it was Meg who called them all together.

"Grab a glass everyone! It's time for a toast to get this party started!"

Everybody did as they were told, champagne for the adults, orange juice for the kids. When everybody was holding something to drink in his hands Meg continued.

"We've so spontaneously gathered here today to celebrate the return of a long lost member of this family and the arrival of a brand new one.  
Claire…it's still like a miracle to all of us to have you standing here amongst us and I don't think there's anybody here that isn't overly happy that you are alive. From today on it's official that you didn't die in that accident twelve years ago.  
I know you can't remember your old life but let me tell you this…even when we all thought you were dead you were always a member of this family and you are to this day…with or without your memory. Welcome home Claire Louise McLeod! To Claire!" Meg raised her glass and so did everybody else.

"To Claire!"

"Now to you Emily. Since we never got the chance to have a naming ceremony for you after you were born like we had for your sister and cousins, your aunts, Terry and I have decided that the changing of your name is just as important as the giving of the name in the first place.  
It is tradition that the honoured person receives little gifts from everybody that wishes them well so we've all done some quick shopping and got a couple of things for you which we hope you will like. Since you are a little older than your sister and cousins when they had their naming ceremony, the presents may have turned out a little bigger than theirs.  
With this little ceremony we want to welcome you in our family and hope we can spend many happy years together from now on to make up for the years we all lost so tragically. Welcome to the family Emily Rose McLeod-Ryan! To Emily!"

Once again everybody raised their glasses, then the party started. Alex and Terry took turns grilling, the girls chatted away, Emily was overly proud about her wonderful presents and everybody was just having fun.

Claire stood on the veranda and leaned at a post overlooking the scene with a smile on her face. Today was the first day since this whole mess had started that she really felt like she was part of a family again.

Meg's words to her and Emily had touched her deeply and she had once again experienced the unconditional love from all the people around her. They had accepted she was a different person now and loved her anyway, now it was time to give something back to them, as hard as it was for her. And she would start right away!

So Claire went over to Meg who was just trying to load some pudding into a bowl.

"Meg, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure Claire…" the older woman answered and placed the still empty bowl on the table.

"I just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done since last week…I know how hard it was on all of you to hold back your feelings and I'm very grateful for that. With your words today you made me realize that I really am a part of this family and I should start behaving like one…"

Claire closed the small gap between her and Meg and closed her arms around her. It didn't take long till she felt Meg hug her back and Claire knew she was doing the right thing. Hugging Meg and letting her hug Claire felt good, right. They let go of each other and Meg squeezed Claire's hand and said once again "Welcome home…"

Claire had to fight back a few tears as she went on to look for Jodi. She found her sitting on the grass, Jack on her lap, helping him playing a simple card game with his sister and cousins. Claire had seen Jodi handle the kids all week and knew she was a natural with kids. Too bad she hadn't found the right man yet to have a couple of her own.

"Kids…would you interrupt your game for a few seconds? I need to talk to your Aunt Jodi…" All four of them nodded so Jodi got up and followed Claire till they were out of hearing range of the kids.

"What's up Claire? Are you all right?"

Claire had to smile. Jodi was still worried about her because of the breakdown after the phone call with Tess.

"Yes, I am all right. And I wanted to thank you for making me feel so welcome here on Drovers. Today made me realize that I am still a part of this family and that I should pull my weight like everybody else while I'm here. Alex doesn't really need me on Killarney but after today and now that Tess has to watch that little wretch of a boy of hers I thought you might want my help for as long as I'm here…"

A huge smile appeared on Jodi's face and she nodded before Claire opened her arms so she could give her youngest sister a hug that wasn't overshadowed by the awkwardness that she had felt when Jodi had first hugged her that Saturday.

After they let go of each other Jodi went back to the card game with the kids and Claire went to search for Tess. But nobody had seen her sister for a while. So Claire wandered around and finally saw Tess sitting on the rim of the old bathtub at the windmill, looking away from the homestead.

Curious why her sister was sitting there all alone while there was a huge party going on she walked up to the windmill and sat down next to her.  
Tess seemed a little startled that Claire was suddenly there but she turned her face to the wide open spaces again, her eyes looking lost and sad.

"Are you all right Tess?"

At first her sister didn't answer then she said "Yeah…go back to your party Claire…"

"You don't look all right Tess. Do you miss Nick? Argentina?"

Claire realized that she must have hit a sensitive topic because Tess had tears running down her face now.

"Hey…" Claire said instinctively putting an arm around Tess and pulling her close. "Not long and you can go back. Everything will be all right…why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"I really don't wanna burden you with my problems Claire, you have enough of your own…"

"You know what…just today I realized that I really do have a family now and you are my sister. So tell me what's up and maybe my own problems don't look so huge anymore beside yours…"

Tess smiled a little and rested her head on Claire's shoulder and it felt right to Claire to just caress her sister's hair while she talked.

"You are right, I miss Nick but that's not my problem. It's rather…now that you are back and I've been home for a week…I don't really wanna go back to Argentina. I've missed this place, you don't know how much. Here I'm the one in charge and I have my own life, in Buenos Aires I'm only Nick Ryan's wife…I wanna come home but I can't…and now you are here and I want to get to know you again, who you are now but that won't happen if I'm thousands of kilometres on the other end of the world…Oh Claire, what shall I do?"

Claire gently rocked Tess and kept on caressing her hair. "There's really only one thing you can do, Tess…talk to Nick. I don't know him but from what Alex and you told me about him he seems like a good man. I'm sure he will understand how you feel if you tell him and you can only find a solution together…"

Tess stayed silent for a bit till her tears stopped then she lifted her head "I'm sorry Claire…now you're all wet…it's just those bloody hormones…I'm pregnant again…"

"You are? Congratulations Tess…why haven't you said anything yet?"

"I wasn't sure till I was at the hospital today with Jack…I haven't even told Nick yet…I think the baby made me realize that I want it to know the country that I love so much…Drovers Run. Claire and Jack don't really know anything about this piece of land and it makes me sad…you're right, I have to talk to Nick…don't tell the others about the baby, ok? I think Nick should be the next to know…"

"Sure Tess, whatever you want. Now…dry your face so we can go back to the party…if we have to have one the night before a cattle auction I wanna enjoy it at least!"

She handed Tess a handkerchief and the two sisters walked back to the others arm in arm for the first time in twelve years…and it felt right to both of them…

* * *

_What did you think? Claire's officially alive again...Emily has a father...the sisterly bond between Tess and Claire is growing and Claire even got to be the first to know that she'll be an auntie again. Now...next up...the cattle sale...wondering how that will go? Check back to find out..._


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